Until You're Mine
by Eriksangelofmusic4ever
Summary: Desperate for Christine's Love, Erik follows her to the cemetery to confess his undying feelings towards her. Betrayed by his angel, 5 years later Christine returns to Erik desperate for his help. "In this camp," Erik growled. "One's trust must be earned." Will Erik be able to trust Christine again? Dark Erik/ Christine. Susan Kay and Musical. E/C as always.
1. Chapter 1

**Erik's POV**

I always thought I would die alone, alone and unwanted in this world. The moment I saw Christine Daae, I knew I didn't want to die alone… From the moment I first heard her praying to her father, I knew she would be all I ever wanted or needed. There was only one problem…I was nothing more than a monster, and she was an angel that belonged in heaven. What woman could possibly love me? There was not one… I never intended to be the monster, but God always made me out to be just that. I tried everything I could to get her to love me, but she wanted to be nothing more than a friend. I was running out of time and I knew it, for this handsome boy was after her. I watched him on several occasions approach Christine's dressing room after her performances and give her a single red rose. How dare he! Oh, and how dare she take it from him. I always gave my angel a single red rose, and never once had she ever lifted the delicate flower up to her nose to inhale it's sweet scent… But when the boy handed her one, she always made sure to lift the flower to her nose and feel the velvet petals against her skin. It drove me mad!

I tried getting angry at her for it, but she never understood me. It was always about her precious boy! Everything was always about him! When I first offered to teach her, the only stipulation I had brought up to my Christine was that she couldn't love anything but music. She was a child back then, an innocent seed that had yet to bloom. As much as I wanted to blame her for falling in love with the boy, I couldn't, for I knew what it felt like to be young and filled with new feelings, feelings that you never felt before. My mother called me the devil for possessing such feelings, reminding me time and time again that monsters never got the chance to touch women. That was nearly fifteen years ago… I was no longer a twenty year old boy, no, I was thirty five and aching for one single touch. What I didn't know was that my world was about to change… I had been living beneath the Opera House for many years, too many to remember exactly how long. I barely left the facility, only once in a while to go shopping in the market before sunrise. The winter was here and it was the harshest one I had ever seen in Paris, for the wind alone was enough to cut through the toughest of men. I knew, for my lair often got quite cold… Just the other night, the production of IllMuto had gone terribly wrong, for Carlotta and the Opera House had gone against my wishes to place Christine in the leading role, causing me wreak havoc on the facility. Not only did I drop a chandelier and slip a poison tonic into Carlotta's drink to make her croak like a toad, but I also followed Christine to the rooftop. I was hoping to come out from hiding and confess everything to her. I wanted to tell her that I loved her, and beg her to give me a chance. Little did I know that her boy was there with her and he proposed! To think that this ignorant fool felt as though he had the right to propose to my Christine! And like a fool, she accepted and kissed her new fiancé on the lips! It disgusted me and sent a new rage coursing through my veins.

Since then, I had not seen much of the girl, even at rehearsals for Don Juan. It was by surprise when I spotted her late on evening leaving the Opera House dressed in her cloak. Knowing that he was headed to the cemetery, I followed her in secrecy. The girl laid some flowers on her father's grave and spoke softly to him, begging her father to send her some answers.

"You promised to send the angel of music to me," she cried. "I never wanted to believe it was true, but he's here, papa…I…I don't know what to do."

"Christine?"

Finally, I spoke up, slowly approaching her from behind. She spun around and gasped when she noticed me standing there.

"Monsieur, what are you doing here? Why did you follow me? Please, don't hurt me…"

"Hurt you? Oh, Christine, after all that we've been through, how could you think that I would lay a hand on you?"

"Then go away, I wish to be alone with my father."

"No, Christine, you wish to be away from me…I try to spend time with you, I try to make you see things my way, but you refuse to look beyond the mask."

I pulled her to me, my hands tight around her waist. This had been the closest she had ever been to me.

"I…I don't understand," she cried. "I have treated you like a good friend."

"Friends don't stab friends in the back, Christine!"

Christine was about to say something, when I heard another voice in the distance.

"Perhaps not, but I would be more than happy to do the honor."

It was Raoul, the boy Christine had been courting! He was walking across the snow covered cemetery with his sword drawn. Oh, so he wanted to play did he? Well, I was ready to play as well…

"You can't earn her love by making her your prisoner, Demon!" he snapped, swinging the blade of his sword my way. I dodged the first blow and pulled out my own sword. Christine shrieked in fear as metal met and our dance to the death began.

"Your life ends tonight, demon!" Raoul cursed. "Your body is going to be hanging before the city so that all the town's people can see how hideous your truly are."

His jokes amused me, and soon, I got the upper hand and sliced my blade across his shoulder. Oh, and what a great hit it was, for the sight of fresh blood splattered upon the newly fallen snow. Painting with the boy's blood was a new hobby I found to be quite amusing.

"You will pay for that, demon!" Raoul swore as he covered his shoulder with his spare hand. "I am going to make you bleed ten times worse."

"Enough!" Christine begged. "Just stop it! You're going to get each other killed."

I hated the boy more than anything in the world, but if Christine was begging me to stop, I would do so for her…I wasn't the one who had a problem with stopping, it was Raoul who refused. At the Opera House, I was a wanted man, one that was on Paris' most wanted list. Only a love sick puppy would be foolish enough to come out into the open when there was a possibility of being caught. Raoul swung his sword one final time, and that's when I got the upper hand once more and ran my blade over his thigh. The man was on the ground now, and I didn't feel in danger any longer… That was until I heard shouting from up ahead. I waited a few moments and watched Christine approach Raoul to help him up, only to see the employees from the Opera House approaching the cemetery by foot and on horseback. They had torches and all sorts of weapons, making it obvious that they were here for me. I slowly started backing up, Raoul staring me in the face.

"That's right, demon, it's time to die."

Christine stood to her feet and looked my way, her face filled with fear. But what was I to do? I needed to run and I needed to do it now. I was chased into the woods with the mob gaining on me. At one point, I turned and fought back with my sword, never wanting to give up. Though, there were more men than there were Phantoms, and sooner or later, I knew they were going to get the best of me. Soon, a noose was tossed around my neck and my body was lifted into the slack being tossed over a tree branch. I thought they were going to kill me, but they hung me just enough to where my tippy toes were touching the ground, giving me enough slack to not only choke, but to be able to still go on breathing. My mask was taken away and my body was beaten like a piñata. When I tried to scream, my mouth was gagged with a dirty cloth, making it even harder to breathe. I begged the lord above for death, begged him to save me from such torture and take me… But he never did. No, for what seemed like hours I was forced to hang there in the cold, my clothing stripped from my body and my frail form beaten numb. The mob said and did cruel things to me, things I hadn't thought possible. All I could see were objects being lashed across my flesh, blood splattering into the newly fallen snow and my world turning dark around me. What I didn't expect was to be stabbed… All I felt was pain, pain against my chest and back, but when I felt the hot blade enter my side, I screamed, and felt my world spinning around me. Then, everything went silent and I was left alone to die… The mob became bored and left me hanging by that noose, bleeding as the snow silently fell around me. When I tried to wiggle my way around, the rope became tighter around my neck. I was in utter agony, for not only was the rope tight around my neck, but I was standing on my tippy toes. If I let go, my body would hang, and I knew I would die. It was the right thing to do, for I knew this wasn't going to end well…

For hours I stood there in the cold, my body turning numb from the cold. Snow covered my shoulders and head, my flesh turning a light blue color. This was it… This was how I was going to die. I had just closed my eyes, when I heard footsteps approaching me. I weakly looked up, and there, to my surprise was a beautiful angel… I couldn't make out her figure, for all I could see was white and feel cold hands against my cheek. I heard a warm voice tell me that everything was going to be all right, right before I felt my body go limp in her arms. I couldn't tell if I was breathing or not due to the fact that everything around me was going dark. Oh, but I could feel her arms wrapping themselves around me, and it felt good in knowing that an angel had come to my rescue and that I wasn't hanging from that horrible tree any longer…Or was I? What if I was the spirit of my former self, and I only had to look over my shoulder and find my body still hanging by that tree? I wanted to look back and see myself still hanging there, but I didn't have the strength to do so. No, instead, I closed my eyes and snuggled into the arms of this angel that had saved my life…or my spirit. I wasn't sure where I would wake next, but I did know that I would forever be in her debt. The world was a cruel and wicked place and I would be glad to be rid of it for good. My Christine had betrayed me for the last time… My body hanging from that tree would be the last thing she saw of me, and I would make sure that it haunted her for the rest of her days.

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><p><strong>New Story! Whoo Hoo... Well I shall be updating this as soon as my latest story ends. So, in the meantime, enjoy this first installment of another awesome story! <strong>


	2. Chapter 2

**Erik's POV**

It felt as though I had been trapped in darkness for a long eternity, it slipping away slowly inch by inch, the room and its color becoming clearer as each moment passed. When the darkness was finally gone, the first thing I saw was a window with snow falling outside of it. I tried to sit up, but noticed that it was nearly impossible, for the pain I was in was more than I could bear. Where was I? The room I was in was not familiar, nor was the strange smell of lavender that surrounded me.

"Erik?"

When I heard my name being called, my eyes shifted to the door, finding the Persian walking through it with a steaming cup in hand.

"Khan, what am I doing here?"

The man held the cup up to my lips and allowed me to drink the hot spiced drink. It warmed up my frozen insides and gave me a burst of energy.

"I wasn't sure you were going to make it," he assured, taking a seat at my bedside. "You're still not quite out of the woods yet."

I couldn't remember anything that had landed me here in this very bed, but Nadir knew everything.

"After your triumphant fight with Raoul DeChangy, the mob found their way to you. They beat you and left you for dead…"

I lifted my hand up and touched my throat, remembering the lasso that had been wrapped tightly around it. My throat was still extremely sore from it.

"If I was left for dead, then why am I here?"

"Because Christine came back for you. She dragged you here and left you with me."

Christine? Christine had left me here? Oh, I needed to find her! I needed to find and thank that angel for what she had done for me. If not for her, I would have died out there, and my body probably would have been placed on display for all the world to see.

"Christine saved me?"

Nadir nodded. "She seemed so upset when she dropped you off. She barely said a word the entire time…All she said was that she was so sorry it happened."

When I tried to move once again, my body rejected my wishes, causing me to plop back against the pillows.

"Stay put, Erik…" Nadir warned. "You're extremely ill and need to stay put."

"I have to thank Christine for what she did."

"Erik, if you truly care about thanking Christine for what she's done for you, you will do so by letting her go. I know thinking about this hurts deep inside, but she loves that boy. You should honor her wishes to continue seeing him by leaving her be."

Christine was like a drug, one that I needed more than anything in the world. Without her there was no me, but to keep tormenting her and trying to force her to love someone she would never love was wrong. I didn't want to give up on her, but what was I to do? I was a hideous monster and sadly monsters were never loved.

"I will bother her no more," I promised Nadir. "If…If she doesn't wish to see me, then I will honor that wish."

"Good. You are more than welcome to stay here with me as long as you wish."

That evening I woke sweating and noticing that I couldn't breathe normally. For some odd reason, my side was burning so terribly, that I knew it couldn't have been normal.

"Nadir!" I called for the Persian, knowing that he would help me find out what was wrong. A few seconds later, Nadir came hurrying in and flipped on the gas lantern that was on my night table.

"What's wrong?" he asked, noticing how ill I looked.

"My side… It's killing me."

Nadir pulled away the blankets and began peeling back the bandage that was wrapped around my side.

"You had a deep puncture from a knife, but I wrapped you up pretty good."

When Nadir peeled back the bandages what I saw not only churned my stomach but made my heart skip a beat as well. There, beneath the bloodstained bandages lay a red and yellow gook covered wound.

"I don't understand," Nadir began. "I cleaned this out and stitched it up. I don't understand how it became inflamed."

I pressed my head into the pillow as Nadir poured a swig of alcohol over my side, causing the pain to intensify.

"I don't understand how an infected wound is causing you to have a hard time breathing either…"

Nadir had always been interested in science and everything that came along with it. The moment he noticed how disgusting my wound look, he already began picking at it and trying to find out a solution to this mind boggling question.

"Something certainly isn't right," he said.

"I think I know that," I groaned. "But why? What's wrong with me?"

"I can stitch up wounds and keep infection away but this…this is something I've never seen before. I'm going to go fetch the doctor."

If there was one thing I hated, it was strangers, but I knew Nadir would never bring someone to me that he couldn't trust. For twenty minutes while he went for the doctor, I was forced to lay there in agony, wondering if I was going to live or die. When Nadir returned, he came walking in the room with an older man following him. Nadir was explaining what happened to me while I lay there on the brink of passing out. Having the man pry at my wound made the pain ten times worse, but I tried to keep myself still while he examined me.

"This man's wound isn't infected, he's been poisoned."

The moment I heard those words, my full attention was placed on this doctor. Poisoned? Poisoned? How had I been poisoned?

"This man was stabbed right?"

Nadir nodded.

"Well, the knife was probably covered in some type of poison. People have been doing it for thousands of years. They wanted to make sure their enemies died a horrible death."

"I'm going to die?" I gasped.

"I'm going to do my best to make sure you don't. You just need to relax and let me work."

I did as the doctor told me to do and lied still while he worked on me. I was losing consciousness and I knew sooner or later I was going to lose this battle. The man had cut me open and began draining the poison from my system, the pain being worse than it had been a few moments before. When I couldn't take another moment of agony, I closed my eyes and let sleep take me.

"Erik?"

In my dreams I saw my angel of music… She was standing there in the snow watching me sway back and forth from that noose. The freshly fallen snow was sitting on her shoulders and her curls were down and not pinned up like they usually were. She was calling my name and reaching out to me. I could have sworn that she had angel wings coming out of her back.

"Christine, help me…"

I called out to her, called out and begged for her to help me. The moment her angelic hands touched my frozen cheek, I jolted awake, still finding myself lying in the bed that was in Nadir's home. The doctor was now gone and my side was bandaged again. Nadir must have heard me stir, for a few moments later the door opened and the man walked in. It must have been extremely late, for the man was dressed in his night attire. It had been years since he and I had slept under the same roof, but here he was, walking in with his robe flowing gracefully behind him.

"How are you feeling, Erik?"

"Like I've been run over by a train."

When I tried to sit up, Nadir hurried to my side to assist me. He placed a cup at my lips and held it while I sipped on the glass of water. My throat had been parched, but the water made it feel ten times better.

"Thank You, Nadir…"

"The doctor left a little while ago. He said you need to sleep and rest for a few days. He drained the poison from your body, but he said there may be some long term effects."

"Such as?"

"He said he's not sure, but he checked over your vitals and told me that your heart is weak."

"It's been weak since Persia, Persian…"

Nadir stood there in silence, for he knew all too well what had happened to me in Persia. The Shah had been cruel to me. The man had done things to me that one would never think of. All my life I had been tortured by my mother and by the gypsies…But never had I ever endured any torture like the torture the shah had shoveled out upon me. He had control like no other and whenever I dared to defy him, he always came up with a new way of making me do his dirty work. I was not broken so easily, but years of being tortured had finally weaken me, so bad that Nadir had to sneak me out of Persia. By the time we made it to Paris I was already on death's door. There were nights when I still saw his face laughing at me while he ordered his men to do their worst on me.

"Is there anything else that you need, Erik?" Nadir questioned. "If not I'm going to go back to bed. You know that I'm an early riser…"

"That I do. Thank you again, Persian. I shall try my hardest not to bother you anymore tonight."

I was feeling a headache coming on from just thinking about Christine. I knew Nadir sensed that something was wrong, for he paused at the door and turned to face me once more.

"You know, Erik, I can always tell when there is something on your mind. You have this strange way of giving off signals. You're not feeling well, this I know, but there is something else wrong as well. Tell me… What are you thinking about?"

Knowing that I couldn't lie to Nadir, I told the truth.

"I passed out when the doctor was working on me, Persian. While I was asleep, I saw… I saw… I saw her...Christine."

Nadir sighed and took a seat at my bedside. I never had a father to tell my problems to. I never had a father to sit beside me and make me feel better when there was something on my mind. No, Nadir had been the only one who was ever willing to listen to what I had to say.

"Erik, I feel so terrible for you."

"I don't want your pity, Persian. I told you long ago that I didn't want your pity. I've lived through much worse than your pity and I don't want it now."

"I understand, Erik. I'm a little younger than you are and I've experienced much more than you have. I've had loving parents, friends, careers, women…"

"Don't bring that up… You know how I feel about that. Back in Persia it was you that kept me up at night. You'd go spend your nights with the Shah and he would reward you with women. You'd bring them home and spend the remainder of the night making a racket while I was trying to sleep. The only thing he ever rewarded me with was pain and a corpse…Never once have I ever experienced the joys of the flesh…It's something so simple and yet, I've never had the chance."

"I know what you're thinking, Erik, but you can't do this… You promised yourself that you would let Christine go live her life. You can't change your mind now."

"No, I just want my dreams of her to be real, Khan… A taste of life is all I want."


	3. Chapter 3

**Erik's POV**

For the next few days my condition began to rapidly decline. I wasn't sure if the poison was causing my body to go in and out of shock, but there were times when I would pass out and wake up a few days later with Nadir dabbing my head with a cool compress. My body was feverish and I was seeing hallucinations that weren't really there. Nadir tried to get food into my body at least three times a day but I barely took in more than a spoonful at a time. In my dreams, I saw Christine… As much as I tried to forget about her, I couldn't. She was standing there in front of me singing, her angelic voice filling my cold soul with warmth. I didn't want to wake and have her disappear from me, but there was nothing I could do but pray that I would see her again whenever I closed my eyes.

"Is there anything else I can do for you?"

Nadir was standing over my bed with the filled bowl of soup he had been trying to feed me. The man was trying to save me, but as each day passed, I knew that my chances of surviving were getting slimmer and slimmer.

"No," I murmured. "I just want to sleep."

"Your fever has risen over night."

What could I say to this? Nadir was right, I could feel a height in my body's temperature, and I knew if my fever went any higher I would most likely slip out of consciousness and die.

"I've been trying to use a cold compress to bring down the temperature, but it hasn't worked. Tell me what to do, Erik… The doctor said that what I have been doing is all that I can do for you. The doctor told me yesterday that we waited too long to drain the poison out of your body. When the doctor did it, he told me that it was possible that some of the poison may have traveled to different parts of your body. I could kill those bastards for torturing you like they had."

"Don't be angry with them, Khan," I murmured. "There is nothing that can be done now. All I want to do is sleep…"

"Is there anything I can get you, Erik? Anything to make you more comfortable?"

I was so weak that I couldn't even gather the strength to talk. I always thought death would have been less painful than this, but it was turning out to be the complete opposite.

"I don't believe there is anything that you can do for me," I groaned. "All I want to do is sleep…"

Nadir understood and tucked me in. What else could one man do? He had fetched a doctor, attempted to feed me and keep me comfortable… In the eyes of God, that was all that could be done. If God wanted me to live, then he would do what he had to do in order to heal me.

"Sleep well, Erik…"

And with that being said, the Persian left me in the dark realm once more.

**Nadir's POV**

I had hoped my story about Christine saving Erik would have helped my friend pull through, but it didn't seem to be working. When the mob came to the cemetery and tortured Erik, it was not Christine who had cut him down and dragged him to my home… No, I only told Erik that in hopes that it would lift his spirits. No, I had been at the Opera House at the time, speaking with the managers about how to go about dealing with their Phantom problem. For the past few months, I had been their advisor, hired to put an end to the Phantom. As an ex officer of Persia, I had no problem in doing so…until I found out who their Phantom really was. How could I point a gun at Erik and murder him? He and I have been friends for years, and yes, for a time we had not spoken to one another, but when I found out who was haunting the Opera House, I knew I had no choice but to play along in order to protect my friend. On the night of Erik's supposed demise, I had been speaking with the managers, and was told that I would no longer be needed because they had hired a mob to seek Erik out.

Well, not even ten minutes later, the mob returned, ranting about how they had put his life to a tragic end and left him for dead in the woods behind the cemetery. It was I who walked in the woods and cut Erik down. From there I dragged the man back to my home and made up the story about how Christine had brought him to me. Erik was dying, there was no denying that. Modern medicine had failed to regain his strength and much like an animal, when it stops eating, death couldn't have been far behind. I knew that Christine didn't want anything to do with him, but she was my last chance at helping Erik live. Therefore, after leaving Erik to sleep, I ventured out to the Opera House which, mind you, wasn't a close ride. It was at least a two hour trek by foot and thirty minutes by horseback. When I finally arrived, I tied up Erik's black stallion in the stables and headed inside. Rehearsals for the next opera were going on, and I knew Christine would most likely be in her dressing room by now.

As I walked down the crowded hallways to get to her dressing room, I could sense eyes watching me, but didn't pay any mind to the feeling, for all I wanted was to get to Christine. Her door was closed and I lightly knocked, waiting patiently for her to respond.

"Who is it?" came her soft familiar voice.

"I don't know if you know me, Mademoiselle, but I would like a moment with you."

There was a few moments of silence before the door opened and the girl appeared. She was standing behind the door dressed in a white robe, her chocolate locks pinned up in a neat bun. This girl was the definition of beauty and I knew that was one of the many reasons why Erik fancied her.

"Christine, thank you for seeing me."

"I'm sorry, monsieur, have we met?"

"No, but I know you… The managers of the Opera House once hired me as their chief of police."

"Oh, you're the Persian officer everyone was speaking about."

"Yes, I'm Nadir Khan… You can call me Nadir if you wish. May I come in?"

Christine nodded and stepped aside. I would have continued to talk with her outside of her dressing room, but I didn't want to mention Erik while there were people walking around. The last thing I needed was everyone knowing that their Phantom and I were close friends or that he was alive.

"I'm sorry I'm not dressed. I just finished with rehearsals."

"It's quite alright. This will only take a second or two. As you know, I've been the Opera House's chief of police these past few months. They hired me to hunt down and kill the infamous Phantom of the Opera."

Christine had been standing at her vanity, but she froze the moment I mentioned his name.

"Monsieur, if you came here to ask me where he is, the truth is that I have no idea. I was at the cemetery praying for my father and he showed up. He challenged my friend to a sword fight and after a mob arrived, they chased him into the woods."

"And I believe you, Christine… The truth is that the mob chased him into the woods and cornered him. The mob brutally beat and tortured this Phantom."

Christine was still frozen and I could have sworn I saw a tear slide down her cheek.

"He was a terrible man, Nadir," Christine said, her bottom lip trembling. "He should have known that what he was doing was going to eventually get him killed."

"Christine, what I'm about to tell you has to stay between you and I. Are we clear? I need you to promise me that you will keep what I'm about to tell you a secret."

"What is it?"

"Do you know where Persia is, Christine?"

Christine shrugged her shoulders. "I'm sorry, Monsieur, my father never taught me much about geography."

"It's a far away land that's ruled by a Shah. I used to live there and I was the Shah's most trusted chief of security. That's where I met Erik…"

"Erik?"

"That's the name of your angel."

"Monsieur, how do you know about the angel of music?"

"Christine, this may come of a shock, but Erik and I are friends and have been friends for many years. Now, when I agreed to be the Opera House's chief of police, I did so not knowing that Erik was their problem. I tried to keep him safe and instead of talking to me about how they were going to deal with the situation, the managers went behind my back and hired a mob. This mob was supposed to kill Erik, but when I found him in the woods, he was still alive."

Christine closed her eyes. "He…He's still alive?"

"Barely, Christine. I took him to my home and bandaged his wounds. He was stabbed and whoever did so, had a knife laced with poison. He's on death's door, Christine. I've tried to get him back on his feet, but I can't do it alone."

"What?"

"Please, Christine. I need you to help me make him well again. I know one visit will lift his spirits."

"Monsieur, I can't… He frightens me. I…I'm engaged to marry Raoul."

"Your angel has helped you hasn't he, Christine? He's trained your voice and got you a leading role on the stage. He needs you, Christine."

"I can't come with you, Nadir. I'm sorry, but I won't visit him. I'm finally free."

I couldn't believe that this girl was standing here before me and refusing to help her teacher. All Erik ever wanted was someone to love him, and he believed this girl of all people was going to be the one to save him.

"Christine, believe me when I tell you that your teacher has done so much wrong in his life, but it's only because he has been wronged. His mother never loved him, she abused and tortured his soul. He wound up with a band of gypsies who raped and abused him every night for seven years. The Shah of Persia wasn't much kinder to him… When he found you, all he ever wanted was to be loved and love in return. All that he has done for you Christine is because he loves you. Now I'm not saying you should come with me and leave your fiancé for good, but it would be selfish not to come with me just to visit and say goodbye. He needs you now more than ever…"

Christine reached over on her vanity and picked up a single red rose that had a black ribbon tied around its stem. She pressed her nose into the soft petals and inhaled its scent.

"My father once told me he would send me the angel of music. When I heard his voice for the first time, I was never more excited to see my father's promise come true. Years later I found out that my angel was not real…he was just a man pretending to be an angel. I never understood why he pretended to be something he wasn't…"

"Because he loved you, Christine."

Finally, Christine placed the rose down and reached for her hooded cloak.

"I will come with you," she replied. "Just this once, just for tonight, just to say goodbye to him."

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><p><strong>And we are one chapter closer to a wonderful adventure! Please review <strong>


	4. Chapter 4

**Christine's POV**

I didn't know what happened to my angel of music after the mob chased him into the woods. When the mob returned to the Opera House, I thought they had frightened him away for good. I wasn't concerned about him, for I knew he could take care of himself. I never spoke about my angel to Raoul again, for I prayed that he would just leave me be. I was in love with Raoul and I wanted my angel to understand that. But here I was, a few days later standing in my dressing room with Nadir and finding out that the mob had set out to kill him. But they didn't… Nadir had taken my angel to his home and attempted to nurse him back to health. I didn't want to go with this man, for I didn't want to see my angel again.

"He needs you," Nadir said. "He needs you now more than ever."

I didn't want my angel to need me! I didn't want to continue our friendship. But Nadir went on to explain that my angel had done everything for me in the past, and it would be selfish of me not to help him just this once. Therefore, I agreed… This would be my goodbye to him. After throwing on my cloak, I followed Nadir out into the snowy night, not quite sure on where we were headed. The man led me into the stables and held out his hand to help me onto the back of a huge black stallion. Once on his back, Nadir hopped up behind me and we were off into the snow covered city. Nadir's home was on the other side of Paris, away from everyone else. He had a stable of his own located on the backside of his home, and once this stallion was unsaddled and placed inside his gate, we walked beside one another towards the brick building that Nadir called home.

"Oh, Christine let me take your cloak," he said once we entered his home. There was a roaring fire in the hearth and colorful tapestries covering every inch of the walls.

"Your home is nice," I said, gazing around the family room. "I've never seen so many beautiful tapestries."

"Hand sewn from my home country. I have quite a few artifacts that I obtained from Persia displayed throughout my home."

"I can see that."

Nadir lit a candle and motioned me to follow him towards a flight of stairs that were on the other side of the room. I placed my hands beneath my arms to keep warm and followed the man up the flight of stairs, taking time to gaze at a few family portraits he had hanging on the wall. When Nadir noticed me looking at the pictures, he stopped and shun his candle light towards the picture I was currently looking at.

"My wife," he said, pointing to a beautiful woman dressed in Persian robes.

"Where is she now?"

"Dead. She passed while giving birth to my son."

Before I could ask about his son, Nadir shun the light at another picture of a small boy that couldn't have been any older than five. It was funny, for the child looked exactly like Nadir.

"That is my son, Reza."

"Does he live here with you too?"

Nadir lowered his head and sighed. "I wish, Christine. He became very sick when he was only four and passed when he was five."

"I…I'm so sorry, Nadir. I shouldn't have asked."

"You didn't know, Christine. Anyway, it's just me now, and it may not be a life filled with loved ones, but it's not a bad life. Allah has his plans for us all I guess."

Deciding to continue the walk in silence, I didn't say another word and followed Nadir the rest of the way. Once we were at the top of the stairs, Nadir approached a closed door and turned to speak with me one final time.

"I assume that you've seen his face before?"

I swallowed hard, for I had. It was certainly something I didn't want to see again, especially after the way he had reacted when I tore his mask from his face.

"I'll take that as a yes… I want to warn you, Christine. He's not wearing his mask… I took it from him, feeling that he would breathe easier with it off."

"It's fine," I lied, knowing that I would only be in here a few moments.

With that being said, Nadir opened the door and I followed him inside the dark room. I stood there at the doorway, not being able to see anything. All I could hear was a heavy unsteady breathing and the sound of Nadir's footsteps heading towards the window. A few seconds later, a lantern was lit, and the small dark room lit up in a shadowy orange color. The room came alive, and there, on a small bed, lay my angel of music. He was barely moving, his flesh almost the color of snow and his breathing labored. I had never seen him like this before… He had gone from being an angel to being a man, to becoming a corpse. When Nadir told me that my angel was on death's door, I never would have believed that it was this bad. He was badly bruised and sickly… It also seemed as though he had lost weight.

"Nadir, I…I didn't think it was this bad."

"It's all right, Christine. You're here now and that's all that matters."

I was afraid to approach the bed, for the view I was getting at the door was bad enough. I didn't want to approach his bed and find that his condition was indeed much worse than I was seeing now.

"Christine, don't be afraid. He's not going to harm you, not like this…"

I slowly took a few steps towards the bed and gasped when I saw how ill my angel actually looked.

"What do you want me to do, Nadir?"

"I'm going to go downstairs and make him something to eat. In the meantime, why don't you sit by his bed and speak to him. Hopefully he hears you."

When Nadir was gone, I took a seat at my angel's bedside and looked at him. He seemed so uncomfortable and in pain. Never had I ever seen him in a bed before… I never thought he slept, for whenever I was down in his lair, he was always awake, even after he placed me into bed. His deformed face was lying down in the pillow, leaving his flawless side and bald head exposed. My angel's shirt was unbuttoned and beneath the shirt, I could see nothing but bandages. I wasn't sure what to do, nor was I sure that he would even live through the night. But Nadir believed that I could save him, therefore, I would at least try my best to do so. The only contact my angel and I had ever had was eye contact. Never once had I ever hugged him or touched any part of his flesh. But there, lying at his side was his boney hand. I watched him very closely as if he would wake at any moment and reached my hand down to embrace his own. He made no movement as my hand wrapped around his… His touch was lifeless and cold. He didn't even squeeze my hand when my fingers intertwined with his.

"I…I don't know what to say to you. We never really had a normal conversation with one another, nor do I know much about your personal life."

Silence filled the room once more. What I had said was true. What could I say to this man? There wasn't much that I did know about him. He used to be my angel of music, but he was no angel, he was a human with feelings and a life. Therefore, I decided to stop talking to him and sing to him instead. I sang a song he had taught me long ago, a lullaby that he had sang to me one night when I was feeling ill. It had helped me, and I hoped it would help my angel. By the time my song was over, Nadir came walking in with a tray in hand. On this tray, there was a steaming bowl and a few other things as well. He sat the tray down and looked over my angel of music, his face seeming worried over his condition.

"His fever is really high, Christine," he said, reaching over on the tray for the cloth that was placed on it. "I think I'm going to give him a cool sponge bath after he eats. Dabbing his head is no longer working."

After dabbing my angel's head, he proceeded to lift my angel up into a sitting position.

"He's weak, Christine. He's barely eaten anything in the last few days. Let's see if you can encourage him to keep his meal down."

I wasn't sure how I was going to do that, but I would certainly try. When Nadir would bring a spoonful of the soup up to my angel's mouth, I spoke softly to him, hoping that he would open his mouth.

"Come on, ange…" I cooed. "You need to eat so you can keep the medicine down."

It took a while, but he must have heard me, for his mouth eventually opened and he swallowed the substance.

"Good, Christine, that's really good."

My angel only took a few spoons of food before he began to get ill from it. When Nadir believed that it was enough, he cleaned up from my angel's dinner and came back in carrying a basin of soapy water.

"Christine, why don't you go wait out in the hall? I'm going to see if a sponge bath will make him feel better."

Knowing that I would feel embarrassed seeing his naked body, I did as Nadir asked and stepped out into the hall. As I waited, all I could think about was my angel and the horrible condition he was in.

"Christine, you can come in now…"

When Nadir popped his head out into the hall, I obeyed and walked back inside the tiny bedroom. My angel was now washed up and dressed in a long robe.

"Christine, I was able to feed him and have him keep his medicine down. I can't thank you enough for helping me with this."

"It was no problem at all, Nadir. I…I was happy to help. I don't know how much I truly helped him, but I'm glad you think it worked."

"I'll take you home now, Christine. You did say that you wanted to say goodbye to your angel… You told me that's why you came tonight, to say goodbye to him and to do what you could to help. He's resting easily now, and if Allah sees it fit to pull him through this, then I'm sure he will live."

I looked towards the door and knew that going home was what I wanted… But then, I looked back towards that bed where my angel was lying and knew where I belonged. My angel of music was not yet out of the woods, and I knew if I left, he might die. I had come this far, so why not stay and see to it that he does indeed live? Once more, I looked out the window and noticed that it was still snowing. I didn't want to go back out into the storm tonight and get wet.

"I'll go get Cesar saddled up and we will have you home in an hour."

"Nadir, wait…" I began. "I…I think I will stay tonight… Just to make sure that my angel makes it through the night."

Nadir seemed satisfied with my answer, for he headed towards the nearest closet and pulled out a few blankets.

"Good, I'll make you a bed."


	5. Chapter 5

**Erik's POV**

I was asleep for the longest time, waking to find myself still in Nadir's home. My world was spinning around me and to make matters worse, my chest was pounding with an unbearable pain. The room was illuminated in a bright orange glow that was coming from the lantern on my night stand. As my eyes began to scan the room, my heart stopped within my chest, for there, seated at my bedside was Christine! I gasped and rubbed my eyes, making sure that this wasn't just some cruel hallucination. No, it wasn't! She was here at my bedside! She was sitting there with a blanket wrapped around her body.

"C..Christine?"

When she heard me call her name, she looked at me and tried to smile.

"How are you feeling?"

"Better now that you're here…"

"I…I actually came to say goodbye."

When she said those exact words, my heart broke in two. Goodbye? Where was she going, and why?

"Christine…"

Christine held up her hand to silence me. "Don't…Just don't…"

"Don't what?"

"Don't argue with me like you always do. I've made up my mind and I am sticking to it. You can't do this to me any longer…"

"Do what? What have I done, Christine? I have done nothing but love you."

"And when I leave here tonight I want you to stop loving me. You have wronged me for the last time."

"I never once wronged you, Christine. I have done nothing but love you. Everything that I have ever done was in your best interest."

"So challenging Raoul to a sword fight was in my best interest?"

I didn't say a word, for what could I say to that? She was right… I did so out of jealousy. I wanted to kill that fop and make him bleed! He didn't deserve Christine, not now and not ever!

"He doesn't love you, Christine. He only loves the idea of it! If you weren't the leading diva he wouldn't have even noticed you. I made you a diva, me, not him! Don't do this…don't leave here and take his hand in marriage! Stay…"

"Stay and what? What, ange? Stay and what? Marry you? Is that what you would like me to do?"

"You don't even know me, Christine. Please, stay and spend time with me… There is more to me than what you've seen."

"I think I've seen quite enough! You murder anyone who bothers you… You steal from the Opera House and you live in a damp lair… What have I not seen? Did I sum it up for you?"

"The Opera House is done and over with, Christine," I assured. "Please, stay with me. We will leave this place and move far away."

"And go where?" she cried. "Where are we going to go?"

Oh, her questions were giving me nothing but a headache. I was so weak and ill that I didn't need her asking me one hundred questions, questions that I didn't have the answers to just yet.

"I don't know, another city, another country…Anywhere but Paris."

"Where would we live?"

I was silent, for I wasn't sure where we would live.

"And how would you support me? Who would give someone like you a job? No one, that's who… You can't even take care of yourself, and yet, you're asking me to leave my home for a life that wouldn't be good enough for the poorest peasant."

Her words hurt me to the core… Never had I thought that she of all people would be capable of saying something so hurtful to me. What she was saying was worse than some of the things my mother used to say.

"What? Have you nothing to say now? It's because it's the truth… You couldn't support me in the way a man is supposed to support his wife…And then there's the fact that our relationship would never work."

"Christine, I love you…"

"Why? Why do you love me? Give me one good reason why, ange… Besides my voice, why do you love me?"

There were many reasons why I loved her, but trying to choose the exact reason was hard. Her voice was certainly one of the many reasons why, but why did I truly love her?

"You're the most beautiful woman I have ever laid eyes on."

Christine rolled her eyes and stood to her feet.

"That's what I thought. You don't know what love is… You will never know what love is! Love is not beauty and the sound of someone's voice! Love comes naturally… You feel it the moment you see the person for the first time. Your heart skips a beat and you know that's the person you want to spend your life with… I don't love you, I love Raoul."

"I…I love you, Christine."

"Then let me go… If you truly love me, let me go live my life with the one I truly love. Let me go live my life with Raoul. I'm asking for your blessing! I'm asking you for your blessing to marry the man I love."

My heart was beating painfully inside my chest. If I could tear out my heart and hand it to her, I would…Oh, but I couldn't. She was asking me for my blessing to marry the fop! I didn't want to give her my blessing to marry someone other than me! It wasn't fair! I just didn't understand it! I didn't understand why she would cut me down from the noose and drag me all the way here if she didn't love me!

"I want you to promise me that you won't ever seek me out again," she begged. "Promise me!"

"Why would you save me if you didn't care for me a tiny bit, Christine? I just want to know why…"

Christine gave a confused expression. "What do you mean?"

"Why did you cut me down from that noose if you didn't care for me?"

"I didn't cut you down from that noose. I thought you were dead… The mob chased you into the woods and that's the last time I ever saw you again. Nadir begged me to come here to help you through the night. I didn't want to come, but did so just this once to repay you for helping me all these years."

The truth was out now and it stunk! Christine wasn't the one who helped me out of those woods… It was Nadir! He lied to me…Lied! He lied and said it was Christine when in reality, it had been Nadir all along!

"I'm leaving now, ange… This will be the last time you will ever see me again. I am going to marry Raoul and I want your blessing."

Oh, I was angry now, angrier than I had ever been before! I would not give her my blessing to marry that boy! I would never give her my blessing to marry any man! She would die a virgin if it were up to me! If I couldn't have her then no one would!

"I will never give you my blessing to marry anyone! If you wouldn't allow me to marry you, you would die a virgin!"

Christine's jaw dropped and she stormed towards the door.

"Well, you're not my father, so I don't need your blessing! If you ever live to see tomorrow, you will never find my husband and me anyway! We're going to be so far away from Paris that it's not even funny. You will never find us, and if you ever do, you best stay away. If I ever see you again, I won't think twice about having you killed."

"I'd rather be dead then live another day without you, Christine. Don't leave…"

"Good, at least you won't bother me any longer if you're dead."

That was the last thing the girl said before she stormed out of the bedroom. No, I couldn't let her leave like this. I couldn't let Christine just leave me to marry the boy. I hadn't been out of bed in days, but I didn't care. I forced myself out of bed and stumbled to the door, my body screaming in the worst pain I had ever felt before. I tripped on the first stair and went tumbling down to the bottom floor, forcing myself to stand up just as I spotted her fleeing out the backdoor.

"Christine!"

I was barefooted and only in my robe. I hurried as fast as I could out the door and into the snowy afternoon. Before I had the chance to catch up with her, Nadir was at my side and grabbing a hold of my robe.

"Erik, what are you doing out here?! You barely made it through last night, and yet you're putting yourself at risk once again!"

"I don't care!" I growled. "I won't let Christine flee like this!"

I pushed the man aside and continued hobbling towards the stable where Christine had run to. I was just opening the gate, when the girl came flying out on one of Nadir's horses. I fell back and watched her fly off into the distance, but not before throwing something onto the snowy ground. Everything came back to me…my pain, my fever, my broken heart, and even my burning side. I crawled towards the object that was lying in the snow and picked it up, noticing that it was the last red rose I had given Christine a week ago at her latest performance.

She was never coming back… Christine hated me and with this rose being tossed aside, I knew that it was her way of telling me that she truly never loved me.

"Erik, we need to get you back inside," Nadir said, lifting me off the ground. "Come, we need to get you back inside where it's warm."

I was lifeless without her… I had loved Christine like no other, and all she did was leave me in the end. Her words were like a brand upon my skin, and I knew they would never disappear. My love for the girl was like a dagger to my heart… I thought that she would come back to apologize for what she had said, but she never did. Nadir tried to keep the morning newspaper out of my reach, but he didn't keep it well hidden, for I eventually seen the article about Christine's marriage to the boy in one of the editions. It was from that article that my love for her finally slipped away. Just the thought of their perfect wedding and their lust filled wedding night made me absolutely furious! It should have been me! It should have been our marriage and our wedding night, but no…Christine married that handsome fop! For three weeks after the announcement of their wedding, I spent my nights getting well again and preparing for my departure from Paris. I couldn't linger another moment in this disgusting city. There were too many memories of my angel, too many people who knew my face, and too much hatred. I wasn't sure what lied ahead for me, but if there was one thing I was sure of, it was a life without Christine.

"Where will you go?" Nadir asked one evening while I tried to escape his house without him knowing. I was still extremely ill, but I needed to leave. Therefore, I packed a small bag and proceeded to leave, when he stepped in front of the doorway.

"I don't know… You shouldn't care."

"But I do…"

"I couldn't guarantee a life for Christine, and I sure as hell can't guarantee one for you. It will be a dangerous journey, Persian. I don't need anyone slowing me down…"

"Then let me join you, Erik. I don't have anything better going for me here. Someone needs to watch over you."

"I don't need a babysitter."

"Then let me be your friend."

Knowing that there was no turning back, Nadir and I set out into the snowy night, not knowing where we would end up or if we would even survive the night. If there was one thing I knew, it was that I would never step foot in Paris again.

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><p><strong>And so our journey begins! Where will Erik wind up next? Stay tuned!<strong>


	6. Chapter 6

**Erik's POV**

The dream always started out the same… I would be standing in the winter's snow, naked and shivering, my body strapped to a nearby tree. I could feel the wet snow landing on my bare shoulders, and feel my teeth chattering.

"You didn't think I left you? No, my corpse, I would never forget about you…"

When I would hear that familiar voice, I would turn to find my master standing there, his long greasy beard covered in white snow. I would try to get away, but I would never get far, for he always caught up to me. He would toss my body down into the snow as I screamed for him to let me go. I would beg him to let me be, but he would only beat me.

"You will enjoy what I am about to do to you, corpse… You will come to know that this will be the only pleasure you will ever feel."

Usually, I would feel the pain of him taking advantage of me, but tonight, a patch of snow fell from the tree and landed on me, causing me to jolt upward and awake from my horrible nightmare. I screamed and gasped for breath, feeling wet for some odd reason. I looked up at the ceiling and noticed that the roof was indeed leaking. I plopped back against my pillow and tried to remember where I was… It had been five years, five whole years since I had left Paris for good. After Nadir and I left the city on that faithful night, we traveled from city to city in search of work. Sadly, though, no one would give me a job due to my strange appearance and noticeable illness. The poison that had taken over my body left me weak at times and there weren't many jobs where one could basically sit all day. No, the only jobs available were ones consisting of hard labor. I hadn't much money, but I did have enough to purchase a caravan. It wasn't anything elaborate, just a black wooden trailer with a bed and a small kitchen inside it. It wasn't much, but it soon became home. Nadir and I traveled from town to town by the horse drawn caravan. To keep the money flowing, Nadir did an odd job or two within each town we visited. I wasn't sure why, but for some odd reason, Nadir came up with the idea to start a traveling fair. At first I didn't like the idea, for I didn't like talking to people, but it soon grew on me after seeing how many freaks and acrobats were interested in joining us. We started off small, with only two performers, and by the following winter, we were a fair consisting of twenty caravans! We traveled all over the world, my company entertaining the town folk with magic tricks and high flying acrobats. Then, by morning, we would pack and head towards the next town, my pocket filled with more money than I ever anticipated on seeing. My fair was called "The Phantastic Freak Fair" and soon, word got out and my traveling show quickly became world famous.

"Erik?"

When I heard my name being called, I looked towards my caravan door and spotted Nadir walking in wearing his robe. It was extremely late, making it obvious as to why the man was dressed in his pajamas. He rushed to my bedside to examine me, but I held up my hand in protest.

"I'm all right, Nadir," I argued. "I…I just had a nightmare is all."

This wasn't the first time in the past five years where a nightmare caused me to wake screaming. The poison that had coursed through my body left an imprint, one that caused me to see things in my dreams that weren't really there. My master appeared almost every night, causing bags to form beneath my eyes due to a lack of sleep.

"The ceiling of your caravan is leaking," Nadir continued, standing up on the edge of my bed to touch the leaking roof. "You're ill enough without having melting snow leaking in through here."

Without a second though, the Persian man stuffed a piece of cloth into the hole, reminding me that this would only be a temporary fix until we found a town that carried roofing shingles.

"It's still too early for breakfast, otherwise I would offer to make you something. Are you going to be all right?"

"Yes, just go back to your caravan… I'm sure your wife misses your dearly."

Whenever I got the chance to bring Nadir's new wife into any conversation I did so. Nadir always told me that he would never marry again, not after seeing his first wife die whilst giving birth to his son. But two years into our journey with the fair, he fell in love with the fair's fortune teller. She was a tall, young Middle Eastern woman with jet black curls. They had only seen each other for a few weeks before running off to the nearest chapel while we were in Germany to wed one another. It angered me, for almost everyone in the fair had a significant other, everyone but me. There had not been one single soul that had ever glanced my way or had given me the time of day. No, to every woman in my fair I was their boss and nothing more, one that frightened them half to death.

"You don't have to bring Reha into this," Nadir growled. "She did nothing wrong. Goodnight, Erik, do try to get some sleep."

I couldn't sleep for the remainder of the night, not after seeing my master. I hated all gypsies and forbid a single one to ever join my fair. But there was one, one that I had made an exception for. It had not been by choice… If it were up to me, I would have killed the little beast, but Nadir begged me to have mercy. Last year while we were traveling through the small wooded villages of Moscow, we came across a caravan that had broken down on the side of the road. The horses had been missing, making it obvious that this caravan had been raided and the horses stolen. Not only that, but the caravan was turned over on its side and it was charred as though it had been set on fire. Usually, I never stuck my nose where it didn't belong, but Nadir insisted that we stop to make sure everything was all right.

"We're losing light!" I growled as Nadir went in search of the caravan owners. "We need to set up camp before the sun goes down."

But Nadir wouldn't listen to me. No, he went around the back of the caravan and came back a few moments later with a small wrapped bundle in his arms. I wasn't sure what it was until he pulled back the cover and revealed an infant's face! It was a baby, but not just any baby, a gypsy baby!

"His mother is nowhere to be found."

"Put that thing back where you found it…" I ordered. "It is a backstabbing gypsy."

"He is only a baby, an innocent child that knows nothing of who he is. Without care he will die…"

"It's God's way! If the child is without its parent then God will take him. It's better this way."

"Erik, I know that you aren't fond of gypsies, but to leave this child out here to die in the cold is not what God would have wanted. He won't cause us any harm, this I promise you."

I ignored Nadir from that moment on and prayed to the Lord above that the child wouldn't last the winter, but he did… He must have been a little over a year old when Nadir found him, for he was now walking and probably close to three. The boy had no family and the freaks and acrobats of my fair became just that… He learned a little from everyone, spending time with each family. I loathed the boy more than anything, for he was a gypsy and I knew sooner or later he would turn into a cold blooded killer. I wasn't sure what his parents named him, but when Nadir asked me to allow the boy to stay, I forbid anyone from giving him a name. He was an outsider and I was going to make sure he knew it. "Boy" was the only name he would ever know as long as he lived in my camp.

When I couldn't stand to lay there any longer, I wrapped my robe around my body and headed outside into the cold, icy winter morning. After starting a small fire in the ring I kept outside of my caravan, I took a seat beside it and began to make my morning tea. A few moments later, the gypsy boy came walking over and took a seat on the log that was across from my own. He had a patched up blanket wrapped around his body and was watching every move I made. Usually, I tried ignoring the child, and eventually, he would become bored and walk away. He wasn't as afraid of me as the others were, which was something I found to be quite strange.

"What is it that you want?" I growled, hoping this would frighten the boy and he would go away. "Can't you see that I'm busy?"

"I'm hungry…" he whined.

I had been stirring a pot of oatmeal over the fire, the boy's blue eyes fixated on the mush that was inside the pot. I wasn't sure why, but for some odd reason, once in a while, I gave into his wants or needs, even though I despised him. I too, had once been a lonely and hungry child, begging my mother for breakfast. When my oatmeal was finished cooking, I reached for a small bowl and scooped a few spoonfulls of the substance into it.

"Here," I said, handing the bowl to him.

When the boy's hands were around the bowl, I grabbed it, holding tightly onto the piece of silverware until I got the answer out of him that I wanted.

"Where are you manners, gypsy boy?" I snapped. "When someone offers something to you, you must be polite. We say "Thank You." Do you think you could manage that?"

The child looked up at me with frightened eyes and nodded.

"I'm sorry, I'm a little hard of hearing. What was that?"

"T…Thank you, sir…"

"That's better. Now eat your breakfast and scram…"

For a few moments, I watched the child quickly shove down his meal. When the child was finished, he did as I asked and left me alone.

"You gave the boy some of your breakfast…" came Nadir's voice. "You obviously must feel something for the child, otherwise, why would you feed him?"

"I feel nothing for that gypsy," I growled. "He is part of the fair, and I do look after my employees do I not? Besides, he would have sat there all morning if I hadn't fed him."

Nadir smiled. "There is some good in you after all."

"Not enough, Persian… Now enough with wasting time on foolish things. We have a fair to pack up. We will be heading to Romania now, Persian, so I suggest you get a move on."

"Your cold heart is going to be the death of you one of these days, Erik," Nadir warned as he headed towards his caravan. "It wouldn't hurt to be nice once in a while."

I didn't believe a word Nadir said, for it had been my cold heart that has kept me alive all these years. I used to be loving towards a certain angel, but in the end, she stabbed me in the back and broke my heart with her cruel words. No, my kindness had died long ago, and I knew it would never return.

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><p><strong>Hey everyone thanks again for the awesome reviews! Please review<strong>


	7. Chapter 7

**Erik's**** POV**

Traveling that day to a new city was not the most comfortable of traveling I had ever done before. Usually, traveling agreed with me, with only a few bouts of sickness bothering me. Today, however, the rocking of the caravan was getting to me so much, that I needed to stop my it in order to vomit. Usually, I traveled closer to the last few caravans to make sure that none of them became lost or left behind. Everyone was going ahead of me and didn't seem to notice that I had stopped…everyone except for Nadir.

"If the motion is getting your stomach upset, Erik, we could stop for the night."

When I heard Nadir's voice, I looked up to see the man standing a short distance away from me. I wasn't sure that the poison had anything to do with why I was sick… Years ago, when I was being pulled in a filthy cage, I always got sick when we were traveling. The familiar rocking of the cage always came into mind whenever I could feel my caravan moving.

"Here," Nadir handed me a handkerchief and I used it to wipe my mouth.

"I'll be all right, Persian. I…I just needed to stop for a second."

Nadir kept his eye on me while we walked back to our caravans. The man had parked his right beside my own, and as I was climbing the stairs to get seated on the small bench that was hooked to the front of it, I spotted his wife Reha looking at me from hers. She didn't say anything to me, for she knew better than to do so. Nadir jumped up in the seat beside her own and took the reins of his horse.

"You're not well," he called out to me. "I'm going to pull ahead and tell the others that we're going to stop for the night."

"Don't you dare!" I growled. "I'll live…"

But the man wasn't listening to me. He ran ahead and told everyone that we would spend the night in the small patch of woods we were currently traveling through. I was angry at the man for it, but he didn't seem to care. When our caravans were set up, he came walking back over to my own with a steaming cup in hand. I had been inside my caravan working on paperwork, when the fool came walking in.

"It's snowing again,"

"It's winter, Persian. It won't be the last time it snows."

He placed the steaming cup on my desk and took a step back.

"I would appreciate it if you got your drink off my desk."

"It's not for me, it's for you."

"Since when do you make me drinks?"

"I didn't make it, Reha did. She told me that it will settle your stomach and prepare it for the remainder of tomorrow's journey."

"I don't need your wife's witch craft. I can take care of myself, thank you very much. Tell her that it was a waste of time."

"What do you have against my wife, Erik? She has done nothing to cause your hatred towards her. Are you jealous?"

I snorted. "Jealous? What in the world would I have to be jealous over?"

"You are… You're jealous that I found a woman to love and that I married for the second time. You've never had a woman to love you…"

"Enough…" I raised my hand in protest, but Nadir continued.

"No, Erik, you need to hear this. You're jealous that I've had two women come into my life and you've had none. You're the owner of an entire fair, and yet, your bed stays cold and lonely each night. You don't have to be this way… You don't have to continue to wallow in loneness."

"I am not lonely! I choose to be single! I don't want a woman nagging and telling me what to do!"

"Women are not just for that, Erik. For Allah's sake, you're nearly forty five, and yet, you've never experienced the joys of the flesh for yourself. Aren't you at least a little curious as to what it would be like?"

I slammed my fist down on the desk and stood, my height overpowering his own. "I like you, Persian… I don't know why I like you, but I do. But I swear to you, if you ever question me again, I will hang you from your shoelaces, are we clear?"

Nadir rolled his eyes and headed towards the door. "Fine, it's your body! You're the one who has to live like this, not me."

"Which is exactly why I don't understand you! You have a wife, go take her to bed and feel all the pleasure in the world if that's what you want. But don't come back to this caravan again screaming about women and their hideous pleasure!"

"Try to rest up, Erik," Nadir said as he let himself out. "And drink the tea Reha made, it will make you feel better."

Hearing this made me ten times angrier, and when the Persian man was gone, I hit the cup with the side of my hand, causing it to fly off the desk and smash on the floor. I hated that woman more than she would ever know. I despised all women, for they did nothing but cause heartache and pain. I groaned and ran my fingers through my thin wisps of hair.

There was only one thing that was going to settle my nerves for the ride tomorrow… I opened the cabinet that was on the bottom of my desk and pulled out the bottle of brandy. I didn't drink much, but when my nerves were out of whack, a few sips always calmed me. After pulling out the cork, I took a swig of the sour tasting liquid and lay down on my bed. My eyes were becoming heavy, so heavy that I couldn't hold them open any longer and let sleep take me away.

**Christine's POV**

I have been on the run for two whole years. I married the love of my life the day after I had that terrible argument with the Phantom. I didn't love him, and therefore, I couldn't stay with him. The man was crazed and I knew he would do anything to make me stay with him. But I couldn't… I ran away and married Raoul. Our wedding night was the best night of my life, for we made love for hours and only stopped when we both fell asleep in one another's arms. When the sun came up the next morning, we woke embarrassed by each other's nude bodies. Then we giggled and made love again. I thought my life couldn't have been any better than this, and for two years after our wedding night, our marriage continued to be pure bliss. I was in a fairytale, one that I never wanted to end… But things couldn't always stay this way, and I found out the hard way.

One evening, after two years of marriage, Raoul came home from a business meeting and didn't look well at all. I offered to make him something to eat, but he declined and told me he just wanted to rest. I thought he was going to shake off the illness like anyone else, but one week later, he was on his death bed and three days after that, he was buried in the ground. I never cried so hard for my husband, my one love, one lifetime. My husband had been coughing and the doctor's believed that he had contracted consumption. Though, once he died, the doctor's did some further research and found out that my husband had been poisoned! Someone had murdered the love of my life! Oh, who could have ever done such a thing? Fingers quickly began being pointed my way and his family members who I thought loved and adored me turned the blame on me for his death! No, I did not murder Raoul, but they didn't want to believe me. They said that I had killed him for his money and wealth, as if I could ever do such a thing!

I tried to stand up for myself, but then, one evening a few weeks after Raoul's funeral, the police that had been investigating his murder found an empty vial in our bedchambers, that vial once containing some sort of poison. I did not murder my husband, but when his family found out about the vial, it was over…In their eyes, I had murdered Raoul. They threatened to have me arrested and told me that I would spend the rest of my days in a prison cell. Knowing that I had no other choice, I packed a small bag and escaped out of our bedroom window. I took one last look at the estate, my eyes filled with tears and never went back.

With just my papa's violin and a bag of my belongings, I left France, traveling from city to city. I tucked my hair beneath a hat to make me look like a boy and with Raoul's trousers and coat, it finished the job nicely. For two years I have kept myself on the run, always dodging the police officers who were looking for a thin girl with chocolate curls. No one ever gave me a second glance, and that's the way it would always be… Winters were harsh, so harsh that sometimes I didn't believe I was going to make it through the night. With just the food I found in the cans behind restaurants keeping me going, I was always starving.

It was the dead of winter when I came across a small patch of woods with a frozen river beside it. I never ran so fast to the stream of water, for I had been thirsty for three days. After having my fill of the refreshing water, I looked up when I heard a rustling in the bushes that were across the way. I never gasped so loudly when I noticed a small boy standing there… But this wasn't just any boy, he was a gypsy! I slowly backed away and hoped that he wouldn't run for his parents. I didn't know much about gypsies, but from the way my angel used to speak about them, I learned that they were nothing but cold blooded killers. The child could have only been a few years old with black hair and he was wearing a white shirt and a colorful vest. He just stared at me for the longest time before speaking.

"Where's your family?" he asked.

"I…I don't have one." I began. "Y…You won't tell yours about me, will you?"

The boy shook his head and came walking around the side of the stream to get to me.

"It's winter," he said when he noticed that my clothing clearly wasn't heavy enough for the cold weather. "Where's your boots and scarf?"

"I…I don't have a scarf or a pair of boots."

For some odd reason this child seemed different. He reached out to touch my jacket and then, he reached out his tiny hand.

"You look hungry, do you want to eat?"

I took his tiny hand and stood to my feet.

"Come," he said taking my hand and leading me towards the other side of the stream. "I'll get you something to eat."

"Your family won't hurt me, will they?"

He shook his head. "No, everyone is kind."

I wasn't sure where the child was leading me, but I was sort of frightened to see where I would end up. I was sure he was going to lead me to my death, but after a short walk, we ended up at a camp filled with twenty caravans. There was no one around, the only thing that I could see were the smoldering ashes from last night's fire. The boy led me to an abandoned caravan and sat me down on a log…

"Stay here…"

That's all he said before disappearing into the camp. I was hungry, therefore, I sat there and waited for the boy to return, hoping that I could trust him.

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><p><strong>Well lets see how this one turns out... Please review<strong>


	8. Chapter 8

**Christine's POV**

I was becoming impatient as I sat there waiting for the boy to return. When he did, he came back carrying a loaf of bread and a steaming cup. He handed me the items and stood there while I bit into the fresh bread and hot tea.

"Thank you," I said. "I've been starving for days."

I removed the hat I was wearing and the curls I had hidden beneath it came bouncing out. The child gasped and took a step back.

"You're a lady…"

"Yes," I nervously replied. "You didn't know?"

The boy shook his head. "No, I thought you were a boy…"

"Well, I'm not a boy, I'm a lady…"

"What's your name?"

"Christine," I said. "What's yours?"

The boy shrugged his shoulders. "I…I don't know."

I giggled. "Everyone knows their name."

"Not me, the owner says that I'm not allowed to have a name."

"Where are your parents?"

"I don't have any parents. The owner found me… He…He doesn't like gypsies and I'm a gypsy. So, everyone is to call me 'boy.'

"Who is this owner? What does he own?"

The boy took a seat on the log that was beside my own and began rocking back and forth like an excited child would do.

"This camp is part of a traveling freak show. We travel from town to town and perform each night."

"Do you think I could work for this owner?"

The boy shook his head. "No, he doesn't like outsiders. He hates everyone… He…He's not a very nice man."

"It's winter," I said. "I have no place to go…"

The boy thought for a few moments and then, took me by the hand. He led me towards a red caravan and opened the door to reveal a hay filled caravan.

"It's not much," he said. "But it's warm and you'll be able to travel with us until I figure out what to do. I…I have someone who could help you, but if he sees you now he might not help."

I was thankful, for at least I would be able to get out of the weather. Without another word, I entered the caravan and the boy closed the door behind me. This caravan was filled with hay and oats, food most likely given to the animals that pulled the caravans around. I was finally warm, and with a full belly, I laid down near a pile of straw and closed my eyes, quickly slipping away into a dreamless slumber.

**Erik's POV**

I wasn't feeling well, not at all was I feeling well. I had tried to get some rest before we continued our journey to the next town, but nightmares plagued my mind and caused my stomach to churn. I woke up covered in sweat, my heart racing a mile a minute from within my chest. After splashing some water on my face, I stepped outside for some fresh air. The morning was brisk and the ground was covered in a fresh lair of snow. I pulled my robe closer to my body and gazed around my camp. Everyone was still sleeping in their caravans, everyone but that pesky gypsy boy. He was over near the caravan where we kept the hay and oats for the horses. I watched him closely as he closed the door and stood beside it.

"Hey!" I growled. "What are you doing? Get away from there!"

The boy gasped and immediately ran away from the caravan. Oh, I was going to kill him one of these days. Knowing that the child needed to be dealt with, I quickly dressed and made my way to Nadir's caravan. I knocked on his door and took a step back to await for his answer. When the door opened, I was left standing there with Reha. Oh, of all people to answer the door, it had to be her!

"I need to speak with your husband," I growled. "Now would be nice."

The woman didn't say a word and disappeared for a few moments.

"Ah, just the person I wanted to see," Nadir said. "Would you like to have breakfast with Reha and me? She does make a delicious oatmeal pie."

"No, Khan, I don't want to have breakfast with you, I wanted to speak with you about that tiny nuisance you have living amongst us."

Nadir rolled his eyes. "Erik, what did he do now? He's completely harmless…"

"Is he here with you and your wife? Usually, you feed him breakfast."

"What has he done, Erik? He's only a boy…"

"Well, for your information, Khan," I growled. "That boy was playing inside of the storage caravan. He's been told before about staying away from it."

"All of this anger for that?" he snapped. "Oh, come on, Erik…. Give the boy a break."

"Khan, when you adopted the brat, I told you how I felt about it. I don't have time for troublemakers in this camp. If you want him to stay, you best control him…"

"I'll have a word with him, Erik…"

That was the last thing I said to Nadir that day. A few hours later, we were back on the road, traveling closer to the next town. We had a show tonight, and by late afternoon, we arrived. For the next few hours, the camp worked hard at getting everything ready for the night. We set up our show far enough away from the circle of caravans, giving me the darkness and privacy I needed to work on paperwork while everyone else entertained the patrons.

Deciding to stay warm by the fire, I took a seat at a makeshift desk I had outside and began to fill out paperwork while the small fire I had built kept me warm. This was the only time during the day when I didn't feel as though I was being stared at. When everyone was working, I had the camp to myself. Plus, there were times when I could see things that truly weren't there. Sometimes, I saw my master looking at me from the woods, other times, my mother was circling me and screaming in my face. It took a few years for me to build up enough strength to ignore the hallucinations, and sometimes, I couldn't stop them at all. No, the best thing I could do to make the images go away was to close my eyes and count to ten.

I was just finishing up with my final document, when I heard someone approaching me from behind. Oh, great… Who was going to appear now? My mother or my master? To be honest, I wasn't in the mood for either one tonight, for all I wanted was a little peace and quiet. Knowing that I had to face my fears sooner or later, I looked over my shoulder and spotted a boy dressed in a hat and long jacket walking around my camp. I found it quite strange, for he didn't seem like he belonged here. I watched as he approached each caravan and went picking around the ashes of their smoldering fire pits. It wasn't often that I had to chase vagrants away from the camp, but when I had to, I made sure I frightened them enough to where they wouldn't come lurking around this camp ever again!

"Is there something I can help you with?" I growled once I was standing right behind the boy.

The boy screamed and fell to the snowy ground, turning to face me. This boy was only in his twenties, for he was tall and too young to be a man. Though, when I saw a flash of green in his eyes, I couldn't help but feel as though I had seen this boy before somewhere.

"I…I…I'm…"

"You're what? You're stealing from my camp, that's what you're doing! If you know what's good for you, you will leave and never return!"

When the boy didn't move, I clenched my hand into a fist and raised it into the air. I was about to knock the thief into tomorrow, when I heard someone screaming for me to stop. It was Nadir and the small child! They were running towards me as if they knew who this boy was.

"Erik, no…No, don't…"

"What is the meaning of this, Khan? This boy is a thief, one that needs to be dealt with! I have no problem teaching him a lesson."

"Erik, this is our new employee…"

"New employee?" I snapped. "What do you mean? You know that all the hiring goes through me. I have the final say, Persian… ME not You!"

"I know, Erik, but we were in a hurry to get here and the boy needed a job."

"And just what can he do?"

Nadir looked at the boy and then back at me. "He's very good with numbers. I thought you could use a ticket boy…Our last one wasn't the greatest. He lost you a great deal of money because he couldn't count."

I looked at the frightened boy as Nadir helped him up.

"Does this boy have a name?"

"Christian…" he mewed.

"A disgusting name for a disgusting being. All right, Christian, you're the new ticket boy. I'll give you a trial run… If you make one mistake or if I find you stealing from me or any of my other employees, you'll be sacked and missing both your hands. Are we clear?"

He quickly nodded.

"Good… The Persian man will look after you from now on. Make one mistake and his head will be held responsible as well."

With that being said, I headed back to my caravan and locked the door behind me.

**Christine's POV**

My angel owned the camp! My angel of music was the one who owned this traveling show! I had woken from my slumber only to find that we had stopped moving. When night arrived, the boy returned to me and told me that he was going to go get his friend. Little did I know that the friend he spoke about was actually Nadir! I was hungry, and so, while I waited for the boy to return, I began to look around the empty camp. I was just rooting around an empty caravan, when I heard an angry voice yelling at me. I turned, and my heart stopped within my chest, for there, standing behind me was him! It was my angel of music. I gasped and fell to the snowy ground, thankful that he believed me to be a boy and not his Christine. That's when I saw the boy and Nadir running up from the crowded freak show. I should have known that my angel was a part of this place, for everything screamed him! The music, the decorations, the atmosphere, it was all him! I lied through my teeth and Nadir got me a job as a ticket boy. But where did that leave me? My angel left us still believing me to be a boy, and when he was gone, Nadir helped me up off the snow covered ground. He pulled me far away from my angel's caravan and pulled off my hat, my curls falling to my shoulders.

"See," the boy exclaimed. "I told you she was a pretty girl, Nadir…"

Nadir just looked at me, shocked that I was standing before him. I was about to say something when he pulled me into his arms for a long awaited hug.

"Are you in trouble, Christine?" he asked.

I nodded. "I have no place to go, Nadir…"

"Raoul…"

"Is dead, and his family believes I murdered him. I've been on the run these past few years…I…I'm so scared."

"You're safe," he said. "It's all right… You will live with us and you will have a job."

"But what about him?" I cried. "What about my angel of music? If he found out…"

Nadir cut me off. "He won't, Christine. Just continue to pretend that you're a boy and stay away from him. He won't ever find out, this I promise you…"

I sighed, for I was finally safe and sound.


	9. Chapter 9

**Christine's POV**

For the first time in a long time, I had a bed and food in my stomach. Nadir brought me to his caravan and introduced me to his wife Reha. She was a beautiful Persian woman with jet black hair and a thick accent. Nadir offered me a room in his caravan, and at first I was afraid of revealing my true woman identity to Reha, but Nadir sat both the boy and Reha down and explained to them how important it was to keep the fact that I was a woman a secret.

"And who would I tell, my moon and stars?" Reha asked. "You know that the master and I don't speak. He is a cruel man, one who will regret his actions sooner or later."

"You don't have to worry about me, Christine," the boy said with a smile. "I won't tell on you."

The weight of the world was instantly lifted off my shoulders, and for the first night in a long time, I actually slept well. Just lying in a comfortable bed felt wonderful, for it had been years since I last slept in one. The following morning, I was awoken by someone pouncing on me. I opened my eyes to find the boy jumping up and down on the end of my bed. I giggled and sat up to rub the sleep out of my eyes.

"Breakfast is ready, Christine!" he happily cried. "Hurry before it gets cold."

"You're an early riser, I see…"

"I have chores to do," he said, taking a seat on the end of my bed. "My job is to make sure all the horses are fed and brushed. If I'm not done feeding the horses by sunrise, the master gets awfully angry with me."

"He's forbidden you to have a name…"

The boy shook his head. "I told you why… He despises gypsies."

"Well, if you could have a name, what would it be?"

The boy shrugged his shoulders. "I don't know many names. The master once told me that my parents probably never named me because they didn't want me."

I never would have believed my angel to be so cruel, especially to an innocent child.

"Well, you need a name."

"The master forbid it, and whatever he says goes. If he found out I had a name, he would probably kick me out of the camp."

"Well, my identity is a secret, is it not? Your name could be our little secret as well. We will only use it when we're alone. Mothers are supposed to pick a name for their child, and since you don't have one, I'll name you Gustave."

The child smiled wide. "I don't know what a Gustave is, but I like the sound of it."

I giggled. "You remind me of my father…That was his name. He had a kind heart, and you saved my life."

I had only known this child a short time, but I knew he and I would become best friends. After dressing in a pair of trousers and one of Nadir's shirts, I dug into my breakfast and helped Reha clean up the dishes like a woman was supposed to do. The woman was quiet, for she barely spoke, even when we were standing beside one another. Nadir and Gustave had left the caravan to tend to the animals and she and I were the only ones still inside.

"Nadir seems to like it here," I said, breaking the uncomfortable silence within the room.

"It is not much, but it is home… The master may be cruel, but he does his part to ensure that everyone is taken care of. Your secret is safe with us, I just wouldn't give away any clues to him. A man is only as good as his word, and the master always stays true to his. He dislikes women and outsiders of all kinds."

I never took my angel as a woman hater, for he was once good friends with Madame Giry…Or so I thought.

"Why does he hate women?"

Reha shrugged her shoulders. "I have asked my moon and stars that very question, but I never get anything more than a few excuses from him. My moon and stars told me that there is a darkness beneath the mask he wears and that same darkness frightens all women away. When I asked my moon and stars why it frightens the women away, he told me that I should pray that I never find out. That is all I know of him. That, and he gets ill a lot. I try to lend a hand when I can, but whenever I get in his way, he yells at me. His temper is one of the Devil's, Christine."

I wasn't sure what had caused my angel to turn so violent, but I promised myself that I would stay out of his sight, if only to protect myself. Once breakfast was over and the dishes were cleaned, I ventured outside to explore the camp. Everyone was outside of their caravans getting ready to move to the next town. This was indeed a traveling freak show, for never had I seen so many performers ranging in all shapes and sizes. There were fat women, bearded ladies, dwarf jugglers and tattooed men. They all stared at me as I walked by each caravan, making me utterly uncomfortable. Knowing that it was best to stick close to Nadir's caravan, I headed back and prepared myself for the long journey that was ahead of me. I knew tonight I was going to have to work and earn my keep in the camp, and I planned on doing so as the boy I was dressed as. I had to act manly in order to keep up my character, no matter what I had to do in order to stay that way. I didn't want to live out the rest of my life as a boy, but I guess things could be worse.

**Erik's POV**

I had not been feeling well, not at all had I been feeling well. After the confrontation with Nadir about the new ticket boy, I began to feel queasy and spent the remainder of the night with my head in a chamber pot. By the next morning, I was too ill to move from my bed. When Nadir found me, he made me some tea and reassured me that he would drive my caravan today so that I could spend the day resting. But how could anyone rest while the caravan was swaying back and forth? For a while I tried to close my eyes and ignore the swaying, but soon, my weak stomach began remembering the cage on wheels and how it felt to travel from town to town inside of it. That's when my body gave up and soon, my head was once again in the chamber pot that was beneath my bed.

"The camp is setting up," I heard Nadir tell me once we arrived at our next destination. "How are you holding up, Erik?"

I lifted my head up from the chamber pot and plopped back against my pillow. When Nadir saw how weak I was, he ran into my tiny kitchen and fetched a damp cloth to clean me up with.

"Erik, if the traveling is getting to you, we could always find a city to stay permanently in. It's just something to think about. I'm sure some of your workers would love the idea of setting down some roots and building themselves a home."

"Say those words again, Persian, and I'll show you some roots, the roots of my fist. We travel because we're not welcome in one city for more than a few hours. We travel, because it's our only means of survival."

"I'd rather stay in one town for the rest of our lives than see you sick every day because you can't handle the road."

"I can handle it just fine!" I never liked shouting, for it gave me a headache, but this man was driving me mad.

"Your frustrated, Erik," Nadir reminded me. "A man your age needs a release once in a while. Mostly every female employee here is single and willing. All you have to do is try."

I cringed at the thought of not only what Nadir was implying, but also the thought of me attempting to court the fat lady or one of the bearded ladies.

"Persian, I would rather die a virgin than go to bed with one of them."

"You're always moaning about your face and how it frightens away the beautiful. At least with one of your employees you both wouldn't have to feel ashamed of yourselves. You'd be both equally scarred."

I rubbed my aching forehead and motioned towards the door to my caravan. "Get out, Persian and leave me to rest. Your ideas disgust me."

"Well, if not one of them, every town has a brothel. You know almost every town we've ever traveled through has one… They're there for a reason, and you of all people should use it to your advantage."

"And what advantage is that?"

"That you need to release your lifetime worth of tension before you do something you'll regret down the road. Your temper is bad enough without you having to put something extra in it. I've gone to many brothels back in Persia, and they work. They don't ask questions, you just tell them what to do and they do it. When you're finished, you pay them and leave without having to get emotionally attached."

"They would see my mask and go running for their lives, Khan. No money in the world would be enough for one of them to willingly go to bed with me."

"Erik, they're whores, not queens. That's what they're there for… If every man in the world was a handsome prince, they'd be out of business."

"So you're saying that they cater to the ugly… Thanks, Persian, that really makes me feel good inside."

"You know what I mean, Erik. You don't have to do it if you don't want to, but I highly recommend it. You've never tried it, so how do you know what would happen or if you wouldn't like it? Everyone should experience the joys of the flesh at least once in their lifetime. You don't even touch yourself."

"And I have a good reason for that, Persian. Now leave me be…"

Nadir sighed. "Suit yourself, Erik. I have things that need to be done before tonight's performance. If you're not feeling well enough to teach Christian the ropes of being the ticket master, I could do the honors."

"You will do no such thing. The only thing I want you to do is to tell that bastard that he is to be at the ticket booth before sundown. I'll be there… You can bet me on that, Khan. I'll be there no matter what. Even if I have to strap a bucket to my neck to stop myself from vomiting all over my clothes, mark my words, I will be there…"

When Nadir was gone, I leaned over once more and vomited into the chamber pot that was beneath my bed. Nadir was right, my stomach couldn't handle the heavy traveling that we did every day, but anything was better than being back in Paris and around her… I didn't like to think about her much, for every time I did so, my heart would break all over again. Maybe Nadir was right… Maybe it was time that I stopped living in the past and began living in the present. Never had I ever gone to a brothel before, nor had I ever experienced the joys of the flesh. Every man needed it, and I needed it more than anyone in the world. Perhaps one trip to such a place after tonight's show wouldn't hurt…No, maybe, just maybe it would help me in more ways than one. Perhaps it would cure me of the plague that has been eating away at both my mind and heart, perhaps it would rid me of all thoughts and memories of Christine.

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><p><strong>Well, there is an exciting chapter coming up! Please review!<strong>


	10. Chapter 10

**Erik's POV**

Usually, I didn't have to worry about showing up at the performances if I wasn't feeling up to it, for everyone already knew what they had to do. It had been years since I had a new employee, and usually, I never really cared about adding new acts, for I hated the human race. I had plenty of workers that knew how to dazzle the crowds, that being the reason why I never bothered looking for more. But tonight, I had to force myself out of bed to show this new boy how to work the ticket booth. He wasn't a freak, that was certain, for beneath that burlap hat and trench coat was a normal looking young man. Why he wanted to join my traveling show was beyond my wildest imagination, but Nadir assured me that he had no place else to go.

After getting out of bed, I dressed in my finest attire and adjusted my mask. Tonight, I was going to take a leap of faith and visit one of the brothels Nadir had told me about. It wasn't something I would be proud of come morning, but the Persian was right, I needed a release. Oh, if only Christine would have loved me…I closed my eyes and tried not to think about her. Every time I thought about that witch, my blood would begin to boil. She had betrayed me, and every day that I went without the joys of the flesh, I could see her laughing at me from the back of my mind. No, tonight, I would put my demons to rest and show her that I could get pleasure from a woman. After leaving my caravan, I approached the ticket booth and spotted the lanky boy standing there waiting for me. I rolled my eyes and walked right past him and reached into the wooden booth for the empty bucket I kept there for the tickets.

"You see this?" I growled, holding the tin bucket up to his eyes. "The tickets you collect go into this."

The boy opened his mouth as if he wanted to say something, but he never got the chance to say a word, for I picked up a roll of paper tickets and held it up with my other hand.

"When someone comes up and wants to purchase a ticket, you take one ticket off the roll, tear it in half, give one end to the patron and the other half goes in this very bucket."

"Sir?"

I ignored the boy and continued, pointing to the wooden sign that was hanging on the booth.

"Children are half price… Can you count?"

"Sir…"

"No questions… Do you know how to count?"

The boy nodded. "I do, sir…"

"Well then, if a woman and three children come up and want tickets, how much would the entire cost be?"

"Ten francs, sir."

"Ah, so you can count. Good, don't mess up or else you're going to be left here tomorrow morning. The Persian will be here beside you as well…"

"I can count, sir."

"Good… This job doesn't take brains, just concentration. I'll be back before the night's end to collect the tickets. Get on with it…"

And with that being said, I left the boy to work in the booth and headed towards town. It wasn't a huge town, just a few streets lined with run down buildings and homes made of bricks. As I passed each run down home, all I could think about was the beauty I could do if I had the chance to redesign such a place. Years of drawing and creating buildings for the Shah of Persia had made me want to recreate every town within Europe. I knew I had arrived at the brothel when I spotted a building that was loud with music and crowded with women dressed in barely any clothing. I paused when I was across the street, my hormones begging me to go in, but my mind pleading with me to stay away. My palms began to sweat and my heart started racing within my chest. Oh, what was I doing? Knowing that I wanted this more than anything, I adjusted my mask one final time and headed inside. The downstairs of the brothel was nothing more than a few love seats and a bar with a winding staircase that led to the second floor.

I was like a fish out of water, for I wasn't sure what to do. I was beginning to get stares, for I was just standing there in the middle of the brothel watching the women dancing and smoking near the stairs. I swallowed hard and headed to the bar. I took a deep breath and ordered a brandy, taking a few slow sips to calm my nerves. So many things were running through my mind as I sipped on my drink. I wanted to leave, but another part of me wanted to stay. I was arguing with myself and finally decided to leave, when I felt two hands lightly place themselves on my shoulders. I tensed at first, relaxing when the hands began to massage my aching joints.

"You are very tense…"

I sighed and closed my eyes when I heard that beautiful voice. I finally dared to look up and what I saw stopped my heart. There, standing behind me was a dark skinned girl with curly black hair and hazel eyes. She wasn't my Christine, but she certainly was exotic. She smiled at me and took my drink out of my hands.

"What is a man like you doing in a place like this?"

"M…Might I ask you the same question?"

"You look very exotic, and I never saw you here before."

"I'm…I'm not from around here. I travel the world."

"A traveler are you? Well, monsieur, may I take you on the journey of a lifetime? You will not be disappointed…"

My heart was racing so fast that I was sure I was going to pass out. I took a deep breath and nodded, allowing the woman to take me by my hand and lead me towards the stairs. We walked up the spiral staircase and entered an empty room. In this room, there was nothing but a bed draped in red bed sheets. The woman pushed me on the bed and stood there dancing for me. Never had anyone ever danced before me in such a lewd way before.

"Tell me, monsieur," she cooed. "What is your name?"

"E…Erik." I gasped. "You?"

"Princess… Does that suit you, Erik?"

"Y…Y…Yes…"

The woman began to dance in my lap, causing my nerves to calm and for my body to react. This was what it felt like to have a woman pleasuring you… It was wonderful and I never wanted it to end.

"Tell me, Erik," she continued. "What do you want me to do to you?"

"Excuse me?" I nervously asked.

"What do you want me to do to you? I will do anything, you know…Everything comes with a price of course. Name it and I will give you the price."

I paused, not knowing what I wanted, for I had never been with a woman before. What did men want? Were there actually certain names for things?

"Why so quiet, Erik?" the woman finally asked. "Have you come here wanting me to make love to you?"

I nodded, feeling the woman's hands slowly unbuttoning my shirt. The way each finger was sliding my button undone was so painful that I was afraid I was going to finish before she even began.

"Tell me, Erik, is this your first time? You could tell me, you know… If it is, I will go easy with you."

Easy? Easy? Years of wanting nothing but pleasure, and this woman was going to go easy on me? No, I didn't want easy, I wanted it rough and I wanted it now. I wasn't sure what came over me, but I flipped the woman over onto her back and pinned her arm above her head. I wasn't sure what came over me, for I was never like this especially with a stranger. My shirt was almost undone, but I was afraid that this woman would scream if she saw my scarred body, that being the reason why I didn't bother letting her completely unbutton me.

"I forbid you to unbutton me. I will pay you for your services, but we are going to do things my way, are we clear?"

The woman seemed a bit frightened, but she nodded. When I was sure I could trust her, I let go of her arm and reached into my pocket for a small bag of francs, placing them on the night table.

"Will that be enough for you to pleasure me?"

The woman nodded and began undressing. Oh, what was wrong with me? I didn't know a thing about this woman, and here I was, paying her to sleep with me. My body didn't care, for all I wanted was to feel the pleasure that every man felt with a woman. There she stood, naked at the end of the bed, slowly making her way back to me. She knew to stay away from my shirt and took it upon herself to unbutton my trousers, her hands slowly prying them down my waist. Everything was making my body react, for I wanted it more than anything in the world.

"Will you remove your mask, Erik?" she asked. "Or am I forbidden to remove that as well?"

"You will do no such thing. No more clothing will be coming off me tonight. I paid you for your services, so you best get on with doing your part before I change my mind."

The woman didn't say another word. Instead, she crawled onto my naked lap and began to straddle me, a new wave of pleasure taking over my body. I gasped and closed my eyes as her hips awoke something in me I hadn't thought was there. This alone was more pleasure than I had ever felt before, but it was what came after that caused me to grasp the bed sheets and groan. It was when I felt her take me inside of her. My eyes flew open and I watched as she began to ride me, more pleasure than ever before soaring through every inch of me. I didn't want to touch this woman, for I was afraid, but couldn't resist and grasped her thighs to hold onto her.

"Yes…" I closed my eyes and uttered the very word over and over again, feeling something within me about to explode. I didn't want the feeling to stop, but knew that something was approaching. I had been afraid at first, but as the moments passed, I took it upon myself to try something new and thrust my hips upward, finding a new wave of pleasure. The woman barely made a sound as she worked, and that's when I realized that what I was doing was wrong in more ways than one. She was working…that's all she was doing. She wasn't enjoying herself like a lover would enjoy it. No, she was serious the entire time, even when we found our finish. Once I gave my last thrust, the woman did not linger…No, she rolled off me and began to put her clothes back on before handing me my own. After that, she took the money from the night table and smiled.

"Thank You, Erik… Enjoy the rest of your night."

And with that being said, she left me there in that room to change back into my clothes. This had been my first time with a woman, and yes, I had finally experienced pleasure, but was it truly worth it? There was no love involved and in the end, there was no cuddling or sweet words of nothing echoing throughout the room. No, in the end, I had done nothing but pay for meaningless sex. This had indeed been one of the worst nights of my life…And yet, in the back of my mind, I could still see Christine laughing at me.

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><p><strong>Poor Erik. He deserves better. Oh well, maybe Christine had a better night... stay tuned!<strong>


	11. Chapter 11

**Erik's POV**

By the time I returned to the camp, the grounds were empty and the performers cleaning up from another night of hard work. I walked through my camp, making sure the trash was cleaned up and the props were properly put away.

"Let's pick it up, people!" I growled, kicking a few empty popcorn bags with my foot. "Let's get this garbage cleaned up!"

My employees froze and looked over their shoulders while I shouted at them to pick up the pace. Keeping my promise to the new boy, I approached the ticket booth and was disappointed to see him still standing inside it. I was hoping to return and find him gone or doing something he wasn't supposed to be doing. It would have been my reason to fire him, and yet, here he was, still standing there like I had told him to do. I was already aggravated from the night I had experienced and was in no mood for chitchat. I snatched the bucket of tickets from the booth and then, the bucket of money that was sitting beside it.

"You best hope you counted correctly tonight, boy," I began. "Otherwise, you will be homeless come morning."

"I counted correctly, monsieur. You had thirty women, twenty children and fifty men. I can count."

Oh, no one talked back to me and got away with it! I spun back to face the boy and gave him an evil expression.

"I don't like you very much, boy… I don't know why the boy and Nadir do, but just remember that I don't. Therefore, I would tread softly. Talk to me like that again and I won't think twice about sending you packing."

"Where have you been tonight, monsieur? You smell like perfume and women."

Oh, I wouldn't stand for this! No one talked to me like that, no one!

"If you cherish your life, you best go back to your caravan while you have the chance. You don't know me, boy…I've done things in my life that I wouldn't have a problem doing again. Murder is one of them, in case you were wondering."

This seemed to shut the child up and with that being said, I returned to my caravan and changed into my robe. Nights in the camp were so quiet that you could hear a pin drop. I was sitting there at my desk minding my own business when I heard a knock at my door. I wasn't sure what time it was so I pulled out my pocket watch and noticed that it was nearly one in the morning.

"What is it?" I called out. "It's extremely late."

"It's Nadir, Erik…"

I rolled my eyes. Oh, what did this man want and at this hour?

"Go away, Persian. I'm busy."

"This will only take a few seconds."

Knowing that I wasn't going to get the man to go away, I called out for him to enter.

"I couldn't sleep," he said once he entered.

"And you knew I would be up…Thanks for coming to disturb me."

Nadir took a seat on the end of my desk, and I looked up at him, surprised that he actually had the nerve to sit on my desk.

"What?" he questioned. "Do you have a problem?"

"Get your dirty ass off my desk. You're crinkling my papers."

Nadir got off my desk and stood there while I counted the tickets and money I had made tonight.

"How many times are you going to count your money from tonight?" Nadir groaned. "Are you surprised that the boy did well?"

"Not surprised, just disappointed."

"And what's this?" Nadir questioned. "For a man that has lost his purity, he sure is cranky. What? Was it not what you expected or did you not even go in?"

"I went," I sighed. "And no, it was not what I was expecting."

"Erik, I don't understand. Perhaps you got a woman who was inexperienced."

"No, she was experienced."

"How do you know?"

I closed my eyes and groaned. "Oh, Nadir, I just know. What she did to me wasn't the part that disappointed me, it's what came afterwards."

"What?"

"When we finished, she crawled right off me and left the room like a whore."

"Because she was, Erik…"

"Nadir, I shouldn't have went… I shouldn't have laid with that woman. How could I have been so desperate? That wasn't what I wanted… I didn't want to finish and be left alone. It was meaningless."

"Well, Erik, I'm sorry to say that when you sleep with a whore, you don't get to indulge in sweet passionate conversations afterwards. But look on the bright side, you got to experience it."

Nadir patted me on the back and made his way to the door.

"I'm surprised you're not tired seeing that you made love to a woman tonight."

"Why would I be tired?"

"Because when I make love to my wife, I sleep like a baby afterwards."

"You're hurting my sensitive hearing, Persian. I don't want to hear about you and that woman. Get out of my caravan before I kick you out myself."

"Goodnight, Erik, get some sleep."

When the man left, I worked until I eventually fell asleep over my work. I wasn't sure why, but the thought of sleeping in my bed gave me horrible nightmares. Though, sleeping over my work wasn't gentle on my shoulders, for I knew once I woke, my back would be in excruciating pain.

**Christine's POV  
><strong>My first night of work had been anything but easy. The crowds were a hassle at times, especially when everyone was throwing money my way. I was afraid of messing up and being thrown out, but by the night's end, it seemed as though I still had a job. I was just lying in the bed Reha had made up for me, when Nadir came walking in later that night. After locking up, he turned and noticed that I was still awake.

"Why are you awake, Christine?" he whispered. "It's late."

"I'm tired, I just can't sleep."

Nadir smiled. "If you're worried about Erik firing you in the morning you don't have to worry about that. He seems astonished that you did everything right tonight."

I smiled. "Well, at least I surprised him."

Nadir took a seat on the side of my bed and tucked me in. "You should rest now. In the morning we will be traveling again and you need to be well rested."

"How is he, Nadir?"

"How is who?"

"My angel…Erik. How is he these days? He seems lonely at times and tonight he seemed aggravated and he smelled strange."

"Strange? What do you mean?"

"He smelled like perfume and women. He never smelled like that before."

"He wouldn't like me discussing this stuff with you, Christine. Just close your eyes and try not to think about it. The most important thing is that you still have a home and a job."

After Nadir tucked me in, I closed my eyes and fell into a dreamless slumber. I slept until the early hours of the morning, waking before Nadir and Reha were up. It was my hunger that woke me and after slipping on a pair of trousers and a shirt, I slipped outside into the cold winter morning. Deciding to venture out into the forest, I did so, in hopes that I would find some sort of food to eat for breakfast. There wasn't much near here, just a few bushes and a small stream of frozen water. Though, once I was at the edge of the stream, I came across a bush filled with black colored berries. The moment I saw them, I immediately got the idea to crush them up and spread the jam on a piece of bread. It would be just like the breakfasts my papa used to make when we were on the road. I couldn't pick the berries fast enough and carried them back to Nadir's caravan and began crushing them up in a tiny bowl. Afterwards, I spread the black jam out over a piece of bread Reha had baked the day before and indulged myself into the delicious meal. I would have offered some to Nadir and Gustave, but I had finished all of the jam and by the time Nadir woke, it was too late to pick more berries. Once I was finished with my meal, it was time to pack up and leave to venture into the next town.

**Nadir's POV**

During our journeys from town to town, I often kept an eye on Erik, seeing that he was always ill. Just from the way he was seated on his caravan, I knew if he was well enough to drive or not. Today, he seemed well enough to sit up on his own, for he barely moved during the journey. It was Christine that I eyed closely, for she was walking with Gustave and seemed a little pale this morning. Not only that, but her cheeks were as red as a beat and she seemed bent over. Our next town was fairly close from where we had been the night before, and once we arrived, I took the girl into my caravan.

"Christine, what's wrong?" I asked, placing my hand against her forehead. "You're burning up."

As soon as Reha heard me say those exact words, she came rushing to my side and began removing the girl's jacket. Though, in the process of removing it, a black berry fell out of one of the pockets. I paid no mind to it at first, only acknowledging it, when Reha gasped and picked it up.

"Nadir, look…Deadly nightshade berries."

I knew the berry all too well, for I had seen many of these deadly bushes on our journeys over the years. They looked delicious on the outside, but if consumed, they could kill a person within in days.

"Christine, did you eat these?"

Christine was barely focusing on the berry I was holding up to her face. What I wasn't expecting was to see her nod.

"Nadir, she will die without medicine. The berries will kill her."

We were far from anywhere supplying modern medicine… The only one with medicine strong enough to save Christine was Erik. Each day, he took a medicine to keep his pain at bay, one that worked wonders for those who have consumed poison. The only problem with that was getting past Erik. He didn't like to share anything, especially his medicine. I knew he wouldn't give a new employee any medicine, especially one that he despised. Christine had come to this camp disguised as a boy, but I knew that disguise had to end tonight.

"Reha, keep Christine warm. I'm going to get her some medicine…"

Reha knew what I meant, for she grabbed my arm to hold me back. "My love, no… Don't do this. If this girl is truly who you say she is, the master will not save her."

"As a boy, no, he won't…But as herself, there is a possibility."

"He will throw her out of the camp…What then? Without her disguise, the master will throw her out."

"And if we don't take a chance, she will die, Reha. Erik has the only medicine that will save her, and so, we must try. It's a risk I'm willing to take."

"The master will punish you for lying to him… He will punish the boy for lying as well."

"He once told me that he loved this girl more than anything in the world, Reha. I'm not sure if that love is still there, but if there is a small amount left, then that tiny amount might be all we need to save her. There had once been a time when he would have done anything for her. Let's hope he still feels the same way."

And with that being said, I left my caravan in search of Erik, praying to Allah above that he was in an understanding and caring mood.


	12. Chapter 12

**Nadir's POV**

My heart was beating a mile a minute as I stood there at the door to Erik's caravan. Oh, he was going to be so angry when I told him the truth about Christine. I knocked and waited for him to answer… A few moments passed without a single answer, so I knocked again.

"Erik? Erik, I know you're in there…Answer me, it's an emergency."

When I didn't get an answer again, I took it upon myself to enter his caravan. I was surprised to find Erik fast asleep over his desk, his chest covering a pile of paperwork that he had been working on. Yes, I could have just gone in his medicine cabinet and took what I needed, but that wouldn't have been the right thing to do. No, instead, I gently rubbed his shoulders to get him to wake, finding that he was slowly beginning to stir.

"Hmmm…What? What is it?"

The man lifted his head and rubbed the sleep out of his eyes. He was delirious at first, not saying anything until he saw me standing there.

"What? What the hell are you doing in here, Persian? And why did you wake me? You know I barely get any sleep."

"It's urgent, Erik."

"What? Is the camp on fire?"

"No, it's not."

"Well, are we being raided by gypsies?"

Once more, I shook my head. "No, Erik."

"Well, then it's not urgent is it?"

"It's the boy, Christian."

"Oh, did he finally steal from us? If he did, I will happily hunt him down and make the bastard pay."

"No, Erik, he's really sick."

Erik stood from his desk and began cleaning up his paperwork as if he didn't even care.

"Erik, did you hear me? Christian is sick… Deathly sick."

"Well, the cold isn't made out for some people."

"It's not the cold. Earlier this morning he consumed a patch of deadly nightshade berries."

"Only a child would be foolish enough to eat those things. Oh, well, I guess the best thing to do is to dig a hole out back and toss his body into it."

"What? Erik, you can't mean that."

"Oh, but I do, Persian. Anyone who consumes those things is dead within a few hours. Do as I said and dig a hole out back. I don't care if he's dead or not, put him in the hole before he poisons the entire camp."

"Erik, the boy isn't dead yet…"

"Well take a gun and put him out of his misery…"

"Erik, you have medicine that will save the boy."

Erik gave me a disgusted look, seeming shocked that I even brought his medicine into the conversation.

"Persian, you know that I need my medicine… I only get enough to help me. If I give some to that worthless boy then I will have to go on suffering through night terrors and pain until we reach a town that supplies it. Don't think that I am going to willingly suffer in order to save the life of one worthless boy."

I was hoping that I was going to be able to get Erik's consent to use his medicine without having to reveal Christine's true identity, but it seemed as though I was going to have to do so.

"Erik, there is something you should know."

"No, Persian, you need to know that I am not about to hand my medicine over to just any worthless child. This wasn't an act of God, it was an act of stupidity. Anyone should know that you don't just walk into the woods and eat anything that looks edible."

"Erik, I need to show you something. I…I need you to come with me."

At first Erik didn't want to follow me, but I convinced him to do so. I walked him over to my caravan and opened the door. Reha was standing in the kitchen seeming worried and believe it or not, I was worried about how Erik was going to react to this.

"I don't know what you wanted me to see, Persian, but you're wasting my time…"

Erik entered the caravan and the moment he gazed at the bed that had Christine lying on it, his eyes went wide. He stood there looking at her deathly ill body sprawled out on the sheets before looking at me and dragging me out of the caravan. Once outside, he slammed me against the caravan and placed his hand at my throat.

"How did she get here?"

"Erik, that is the boy… Christine disguised herself as a boy so you wouldn't notice her."

"And you kept that from me? You, of all people hid this from me? You were my most trusted associate, and yet, how can I ever trust you again?"

"She needed help, Erik! Raoul died and his family tried pinning the murder on her. She's been on the run. It's cold and she would have died without our help."

Erik let me go and starting pacing in a small circle.

"Erik, she needs help or else she's going to die."

"And why should I help her? She didn't care that I was hanging in those woods all those years ago! I could have died and she didn't care! What comes around goes around, Persian!"

"Erik, what's happened to you? Years ago, you would have done anything for that girl. What changes your mind now?"

"Because she didn't care about me, Persian! Dig a hole and put her in it… I don't want to look at her any longer. Get rid of her and do it now…"

Erik was storming away from me, when he paused and turned to face me again.

"No… Forget what I said. I have a better idea. I will help her, but in return she will become my prisoner."

"Erik, you're going about this all the wrong way."

"A life for a life, Persian. I will save her life, but in return, I will own it."

"Erik…"

"My mind is made up! Go ahead and take the medicine she needs."

**Erik's POV**

In the past, all I had ever wanted was Christine to love me. She refused and ran away, telling me that she would never love me. Well, now the tables have turned and I was the one placing her life into my hands. She would pay for this kindness by giving me her soul for all eternity. She would not leave the camp ever, and along with that, she would never be able to see any other man but me. If she didn't want to be with me, then I was perfectly fine with that, but she would be forbidden to love any other man. I gave Nadir the medicine he required, knowing that I would suffer once I ran out. I was getting extremely low on my dosage and knew that sooner or later I was going to have to find a town that supplied it. The only problem with my medicine was that only cities supplied it and we usually traveled to small towns or villages. Not only that, but the medicine needed to be administered through your arm with a syringe. I only had a few of them left as well, but syringes were easier to find in a town than my medicine.

"You look as though you hadn't slept in days," Nadir said one afternoon a few days after finding out about Christine. The truth was that I hadn't slept and I wasn't sure why. My camp was setting up for the night's show and I was looking over a map of Europe.

"I haven't, Persian… Though, I'm perfectly fine. I don't need sleep very often. I haven't heard anything out of you about Christine, so she must be doing better."

"She just woke up a few hours ago. Her fever is down and she's been able to speak a few sentences."

"Yes, if not for my medicine, she would have been in the ground three towns ago. She will be really sick for the next week or so, but afterwards, I'm sure she will be up and about like her old self in no time."

"I'm working tonight," Nadir said. "Actually, both Reha and I are working tonight. Perhaps you should drop by and look after her? She is, after all, your patient. You plan on keeping her a prisoner of the camp when she's able to get around on her own."

"Don't be sarcastic with me, Persian. She deserves what she's about to get. I let her use my medicine and I'm keeping a roof over her head. Call it what you want, but she will be mine."

"You can't force her to love you."

"I didn't say anything about love, you fool… She doesn't have to love me, but she will stay here for the rest of her life. I own her just like I own everyone else in this camp. She's my property…"

"A person is not a piece of property. One day I know you will come to understand it."

"I do know that, but Christine will learn her place here…"

**Christine's POV**

I was sure I was going to die, but I woke a few days after consuming the berries and felt ten times better. Yes, I was still sick, but I was no longer on death's door. I wasn't sure what town we were in, but I didn't care, for Nadir and Reha were both taking care of me. Though, there came a night one evening when they both had to work and leave me in the caravan alone. I thought nothing of it, for I knew I was going to just lay there in the dark. For a while, I closed my eyes and rested until I heard footsteps approaching the bed. When I opened my eyes, I gasped in fright, for there, standing at the end of my bed was my angel of music. He was just standing over me with his hands folded gracefully behind his back.

"Ah, so the little angel has finally woken up."

"I don't know what you're talking about, monsieur." I said.

The man rolled his eyes. "I think the formalities are over, Christian… Or should I say, Christine."

My heart ceased within my chest! How did he know? I was about to say something when I suddenly remembered that I was not dressed in my trousers and coat. No, I was lying there in one of Reha's nightgowns.

"Surprised are you? Well, Christine, I'm not."

"Nadir…"

"Nadir, what?" he growled. "Nadir is the one who told me about your true identity. How else do you think you survived? No, Nadir tried at first, but when I refused to give my medicine to a new employee, he spilled the beans in hopes that I would feel horrible about killing you."

"Y…You gave me medicine?"

"Indeed… I have a medicine that I take that does wonders for poison."

I wasn't sure if I should have thanked him, but to play it safe, I continued to lie there in silence.

"Everything comes with a price, Christine," he continued. "And the price that you will pay for me saving you is your soul."

"My what?"

"You will now and forever be my prisoner. You will not leave the camp, and you will not look at any other man but me. Are we clear?"

"You can't do this to me!" I cried. "I will run away the first chance I get. I am not your prisoner, nor am I a piece of property."

I never expected my angel to come at me and grab the collar of my shirt, but he did just that and it frightened me beyond belief.

"You don't have to love me, Christine, but you are my prisoner, are we clear? You will earn your keep around this camp just like everyone else. If you want to run, you can try to do so, but mark my words, girl, when I find you, I will shackle you like a wild animal."

And when he pushed me back against my pillows, I knew that running would get me nowhere, for my angel never broke a promise, especially one to me. If he told me he was going to chain me up like an animal, then I knew he would do just that. No, I was now a prisoner of his camp, and I knew there was nothing to be done about it.

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><p><strong>Well what is Christine going to do? Thanks everyone for reviewing! I shall keep updating every few days! <strong>


	13. Chapter 13

**Christine's POV**

"A life for a life, Christine," my angel said as he headed towards the kitchen. I watched as he gracefully moved from the counter to the small hearth. The man had just told me that I was to be his prisoner for life, and yet, I couldn't stop thinking about ways to escape him. He heated up a cup of water and brought it to me, the cup steaming and letting me know that it was piping hot. He took a seat on the side of my bed and reached under me to help me sit up.

"Here you are," he said, holding the cup up to my lips. "This will make you feel better."

I was his prisoner, and yet, here he was trying to smooth things over by making me a cup of tea. No… I couldn't live like this, as if everything was all right. I didn't love him back in Paris, and I wasn't about to pretend that I did now.

"I can hold the cup on my own," I growled, knowing what I was getting into if I continued through with this plan to get away from him.

"Well then," he snapped. "Forgive me for helping you."

"I don't need your help. I can do things on my own."

Knowing that he would get angry and hand the cup to me, I waited. He did just that, handing the cup to me and standing there with his arms crossed over his chest like a child that hadn't got his way. I had the steaming cup in my hand and knew what I had to do in order to get away. I pretended to take a sip of the hot drink and quickly pulled away.

"What?" he questioned. "What's wrong?"

"What did you put in this?"

"Nothing…I know how you like your tea, Christine."

I pointed to the liquid that was inside of the cup. "What's that?"

My angel of music bent down to have a look in the cup, and as soon as his face was right above it, I put my plan into action.

"What? I don't see anything."

As soon as he said those exact words, I splashed the burning liquid into his face, causing him to scream and stumble backwards. His back legs hit the coffee table that was in the small sitting area and his body went backwards, hitting the table right before he plummeted to the floor. I acted quickly and threw on my long coat before heading out the door and not looking back. It was pitch black except for a few torches that were lit in the distance from the freak show that was going on. I ran…Oh, I never ran so quickly in all my life. I wasn't sure where I was headed because it was so dark, but anything was better than being stuck with him. Suddenly, I felt my body being flung up into the air and realized that I was now dangling upside down from a tree and that my right leg was caught in a snare. I tried to lift myself upwards to release my leg, but it was no use. I had been caught in some kind of trap….

A few seconds later, I began to hear galloping hooves coming from a short distance away. Soon, the darkness faded and I could see torches coming towards me, and then, a few horses.

"There she is," I heard the familiar voice of my angel and spotted him sitting atop of his horse pressing a cloth tightly against his unmasked cheek. "Cut her down."

"No! Let me go….I'm not a prisoner! Do you hear me!"

Next thing I knew, I was on the ground and Nadir was standing over me.

"Christine, stay still…"

"No! Let me go! I won't go back…"

"Oh, you'll go back all right." My angel snapped. "You're going back and I'm going to make sure you don't get the chance to run away again. You've hurt me for the last time…"

When Nadir tried to help me to my feet, I fought him. I didn't want to fight with the man for he had been kind to me in the past. Nadir immediately backed off, but my angel demanded that he continue.

"You throw that viper over your back like a sack of potatoes if you must, but get her on your horse. I don't want to linger here much longer…Whoever set that trap will be here soon and I don't want to be around when he shows up."

"I'm sorry about this, Christine." Nadir said. And right afterwards he tossed me over his back as I kicked and screamed. I wasn't sure what Erik was going to do to me once we arrived back at the camp, but I knew he wouldn't be merciful.

**Erik's POV**

Never in a million years did I think that Christine of all people would ever physically hurt me. But she did just that when she tossed her steaming cup of tea in my face. It hurt and immediately blinded me. I wasn't sure where I had gone, or how I got there, but I found myself on the floor grasping my bleeding face. My mask had protected my deformity from being burned, but my left cheek and eye socket had taken the worst of it. Nadir had heard me scream and within seconds, he was at the caravan door telling me that Christine had run off. We chased her, and found her caught in a gypsy trap. I knew the traps all too well and knew that the gypsy that set it would be around sooner than later to collect his prize. I thought I could trust Christine to obey my wishes, but I had been wrong.

"Erik, I'll make sure that she doesn't leave tonight." Nadir said once we arrived back at the camp. "I'll keep an eye on her in my caravan."

"No," I snapped, pressing a damp cloth against my face. "You will do no such thing. I'm not leaving you in charge of her. For all I know, you'll let her go in the middle of the night."

"Then what, Erik? What would you like me to do with her?"

"Chain her up in the storage caravan. A night in the dark will teach her a lesson."

"Erik, it's going to be mighty cold tonight. Without warmth the poor girl will freeze to death in there. And with her just getting over being ill, I wouldn't advise it."

"Well, Persian, what do you suggest? Please, enlighten me."

"If you don't want Christine in my caravan, then I suggest letting her stay in here with you."

"Absolutely not! I enjoy my privacy too much."

"What? You have a spare room in the back. Put her in there…At least she will be warm."

Knowing that the fool was right I nodded and the man left to fetch Christine. Oh, but I wasn't going to let her get off easy. No, I was going to make sure her punishment prevailed. I had warned her what would happen if she tried to run, and now, I would go through with it. Nadir brought the girl in a few moments later and I was ready with a chain and shackle in hand.

"What are you doing?" Christine cried. "I'm not an animal that you can just chain up."

Oh, but she was. I shoved her into the spare bedroom and locked the shackle around her left ankle. I gave the girl just enough slack to get from her bedroom into the kitchen…She was my prisoner now.

"Erik, maybe you…"

"Maybe I should what?" I growled. "You don't give orders, Persian. Now what I want you to do is get the camp moving to the next town before the gypsies find out that we freed what was in their trap. We will take off tomorrow to sleep and get back on schedule the following day. I'm going to rest my wounds tonight and would appreciate it if you took control of the journey."

Nadir didn't say another word and left Christine and I alone. The girl was sitting on the makeshift bed that was in the room and attempting to slip her ankle out of the shackle.

"You'll break your foot before getting it out of that contraption, girl." I said. "You have no place else to go. I warned you what would happen if you ran, and you did it anyway."

"Go to hell!" she cried. "I hope that tea scarred you for life. I hope that you remember it every time you look at your hideous self in the mirror."

Oh, this girl knew how to hurt me! I held in the pain of what she had just said to me by yanking on her chain, causing the girl to slip out of bed.

"Your trust shall have to be earned, vixen! This is your home now, so you best get used to it. It can be a lovely place to call home or a living hell… You choose, but choose wisely. I am not a kind man, you should know this… I'm not afraid to do what I wish anymore. Who knows, perhaps one evening I will find myself wanting you in the middle of the night. I wouldn't think twice about having my way with you if I truly wanted it."

"I'd rather die than be taken advantage of by the likes of you!"

Once more she had hurt me to the core. I clenched my fists together and pulled down the privacy drape that closed off her room from the other parts of my caravan.

"I'd offer you something to eat or drink, Christine, but you've been a bad guest tonight. Therefore, I'm going to have to send you to bed without any dessert. Goodnight…"

I was surprised that the girl was quiet at first, and I spent the next few hours sitting at my desk nursing my wounded face. I soaked Brandy into my flesh, hoping that it took away all the pain I was in. When I began to feel drowsy, I crawled into bed and closed my eyes, letting the swaying of the moving caravan lull me to sleep. That's when the screaming began… The girl was yanking on her chain like a madman and screaming at the top of her lungs. At first, I placed a pillow over my head to drown out the sound, but as it continued, I knew I needed to do something or else my eardrums were going to explode.

"You either stop that racket or I'm going to gag you!"

"Let me go!" she cried. "You can't keep me in here like an animal!"

"You did this to yourself!"

For three more hours the horrible noise of her yanking on her chain filled my ears. I guess eventually she got tired and fell asleep, for the sound finally stopped. It was nearly daybreak by then and we were still traveling. Knowing that this was my chance to get some sleep, I closed my eyes and drifted away…

**Christine's POV**

That first night chained in the caravan had been the worst night of my life. I screamed at the top of my lungs in an attempt to annoy Erik, but it didn't work. I fell asleep that night, waking the next morning to find that we were still traveling. After rubbing the sleep out of my eyes, I stood and headed into the kitchen with the chain traveling behind me. I could only go as far as the kitchen, and as I stood there looking into the next room, I spotted Erik lying fast asleep in his bed with his clothes from the night before still on. His face was stricken with pain and from that look of agony, I knew that I had succeeded in causing him pain. I wanted to escape this camp and I knew doing so was going to take much more than trust, it was going to take time… I would gain this man's trust, and then, only after he unchained me, I would kill him and only when he was dead would I take my leave from the camp…


	14. Chapter 14

**Erik's POV**

I had a horrible night's sleep. Nightmares plagued my mind and there wasn't anything that would let me rest easy. When I woke, there was a sliver of sunlight peaking in through my drapes, making it obvious that it was morning. I was about to close my eyes again when I heard some rattling coming from the kitchen. At first, I ignored the aggravating sound, but when it continued, I sat up and saw Christine rummaging around the cabinets.

"Go back to your room!" I snapped. "I'm still trying to sleep!"

The girl seemed surprised and continued doing whatever she was doing. Oh, she was going to disobey me? After all that we had been through last night? I plopped back against my bed and removed my mask to give my face some air. I rubbed my malformed cheek and pressed it into my pillow.

"If I have to come out into that kitchen," I growled. "You're going to be sorry."

I thought it got silent, but I was wrong, for now she was washing dishes. I groaned and slipped my mask back over my face before marching into the kitchen and grabbing her hand. She gasped and took a step back.

"What is wrong with you? Are you deaf? I told you to stop and go to your room! I have to sleep, do you understand that? I have a fair that needs to be run and I have to be rested!"

"I…I…I was…"

"Out with it!"

The girl pointed to the counter where a steaming cup of liquid was sat. As soon as I saw it, horrible memories of the night before came rushing back to me and I backed away from it. All I needed was for her to toss the tea in my face again. My face was still in agony from the night before.

"No, I'm not going to toss it at you," Christine said, placing up her hands. "I…I thought you would be thirsty."

"No thank you… After last night's episode I don't think I will ever drink tea again."

There was an awkward silence, and then, I pointed towards the steaming cup.

"I want you to dump that and then go back to your room and be quiet."

When the girl opened her mouth to try an argue, I stepped forward and grabbed the collar of her shirt.

"One thing you will not do is fight with me. When I tell you something, you best do it without opening that trap of yours. Now dump that disgusting drink and go to your room."

The girl stood there looking up at me with a confused expression.

"Did I stutter? Oh, let me guess, you thought you were going to make me a cup of tea and I was going to take the chain off your leg…I don't think so. Nice try, Christine. Go back to your room and be quiet."

With that being said, I strutted back to my bed and closed my eyes. Oh, it was silent at last… For two seconds until I heard a knock at my door. I groaned into my pillow and approached the door to pull it open.

"What!" I angrily snapped. "Can't a man get some sleep around here?!"

It was Nadir… There he was, standing at my door already dressed and ready to perform in the show today.

"Usually you're up by now," he began. "I'm terribly sorry to disturb you. We've arrived at our destination and the other performers were wondering when they could have breakfast."

Knowing that I wouldn't get any sleep from now until tonight, I told Nadir to let everyone get on with breakfast.

"Can I have breakfast?" Christine questioned from her room. "I am a little hungry."

"You can make it yourself outside," I said, taking the slack of her chain and locking it to one of the wheels on my caravan. "You have enough slack now to go outside and back to the kitchen. When breakfast is over I will show you what your daily chore shall be. You will be pulling your weight around here just like everyone else."

When Christine was outside, I was finally able to lay back and relax. I never thought that taking the girl in like my prisoner would be so stressful. At least for the next hour I could get most of my work done and have some time to myself.

**Christine's POV**

My plan of gaining Erik's trust had not worked. There had to be something I could do to speed it up. The shackle around my leg was beginning to irritate my flesh and to make matters worse, I was like a chained animal. I was outside cooking over the fire with every one of the performers gawking at me as if I were nothing more than another attraction. I had never been more embarrassed in all my life. How dare he chain me up like a dog and call me his prisoner!

"Hi, Christine…"

When I heard my name being called, I looked over and spotted Gustave walking towards me. He took a seat on one of the logs that were set up around the fire and watched me cook.

"The master shackled your leg?"

I nodded. "He said that I can't go anywhere. I'm his prisoner."

Gustave looked around to make sure that my angel was listening. When he realized that we were alone, he hopped off the log and took a look at my shackle.

"I know the key he uses for this," he began. "It's a skeleton shaped one. He keeps it inside of his coat pocket."

"Do you think you could get me loose?"

Gustave shrugged his shoulders. "I don't know… I have to be smooth about it, otherwise, he'll know that I set you free and get real mad at me."

"He's going to be giving me a job. Do you think you could get the key from him and set me free tonight?"

"Where would you go?"

"I don't know… But if you did set me free, I would have to run really fast before he notices that I am gone."

"Nadir told me that the master will probably have you continuing to be his ticket boy."

"Then tonight…" I said. "Tonight, get the key and set me free."

Gustave seemed frightened, but after thinking for a few minutes, he nodded.

"I'll help you on one condition."

"Anything."

"Take me with you…."

I was taken back by his request.

"Gustave, I couldn't possibly take you. I don't know where I would end up. A life on the road is no life for a child."

"It's better than being here. I don't have a mother…I don't have anyone. If you want me to set you free tonight then agree to take me with you. Promise me that you will…"

Knowing that the boy was my only way of escaping, I agreed. When breakfast was ready, I sat down on a log with Gustave and indulged into the bland tasting oatmeal. After cleaning the dishes, Erik came walking out and stood there before me as if I had been up to no good. I was ready for his argument, but he never said a word. Instead, he told me that I would be working the ticket booth each night along with cleaning the caravan each day.

"You are not to move from this box until I come for you…" Erik replied after walking me to the ticket booth that evening and chaining me to it. "I don't think you'll be getting very far anyway."

"I refuse to take money from patrons and sell tickets," I growled. "I'll just stand here and do nothing."

This angered the man, for he grabbed me by my shirt and pulled me close to him. "Refuse to do your job and I won't think twice about making you walk the entire journey to the next town tomorrow. That journey is a treacherous one… All up hill in the snow. I don't think you would want to walk that, now would you?"

I didn't say a word and Erik nodded. "I thought so. Now do your job and sell those tickets. I'll be back in a few hours to collect my earnings for the night."

I watched Erik closely, for right after he turned to leave, Gustave came running by and bumped into the man, making it look like an accident. Gustave backed away and looked up at him, apologizing like a frightened child.

"Sorry, sir…"

Erik just rolled his eyes and pushed the child aside to continue his journey back to his caravan. I prayed to the lord above that Gustave got the key, and a few moments later, the child came walking by and dropped the skeleton shaped key into the ticket booth. I quickly placed it into my pocket and waited, knowing that I would make my escape as soon as I was finished selling tickets. I waited until the crowds died down, and once the coast was clear, I bent down and placed the key into the shackle. The sound of the lock releasing was like music to my ears. I quickly rubbed my sore ankle and hurried out of the booth, finding Gustave standing there waiting for me. I grabbed his tiny hand and hurried towards the woods, the whimsical sounds of the fair getting farther and farther away.

"Where are we going?" the child asked. "I can't see a thing."

I didn't know what to say to the child, for I wasn't sure where we were headed. I just kept running, hoping that we would get away before Erik could find us. Suddenly, I felt a hand on my shoulder and was grabbed. I gasped and thought I would come face to face with Erik, but instead, I came face to face with a large bearded man. It was a gypsy! I screamed and attempted to kick my way from his grasp, but it was no use. His giant hand was working its way up my skirt, causing my screams to become louder.

"Let me go! Please!"

The child tried to help, but one slap of the man's hand and the boy fell to the snowy ground.

"Put her down…" When I heard a familiar voice, everything fell quiet, and the man spun around with me in his grasp to find Erik standing there with his sword drawn. The large gypsy chuckled and tossed me aside and drew his knife, circling my angel. Erik's horse galloped over to me and I lay there with Gustave watching as Erik circled the man.

"I found her first," the gypsy sneered. "She's mine to do with as I please…"

"You're wrong…She belongs to me."

At first I didn't think Erik wanted to fight the man, but when the gypsy swung his knife at him, the fight broke out. The gypsy seemed to have the upper hand at first, slashing the sharp blade across Erik's neck and chest. I covered my eyes, frightened to see how this was going to play out. Erik swung his sword at the man and slashed the gypsy's leg, causing him to fall to the ground. Erik was about to finish him off, when the gypsy jumped on top of my angel and stabbed him in the side. I thought it was over… There was so much blood in the snow from both men that it seemed like none of them were coming out alive. But when I heard a loud grunt, I saw Erik standing over the gypsy with his sword pierced through him…. When the man was on the ground, Erik turned to Gustave and I. He was breathing heavily and attempted to take a few steps toward us, collapsing after the second step. He was lying face down in the snow and wasn't making a single move. Oh, this was our chance! I grabbed the boy's tiny hand and took the reins of Erik's horse.

"Come on," I said, pulling the boy closer to me. "Let's get out of here while we have the chance."

I was just about to get on the horse's back, when Gustave tugged my arm.

"Christine…"

I stopped and looked at the child, his face filled with sorrow.

"What?"

Gustave didn't make a sound, he simply turned his head to face Erik's lifeless body that was lying in the snow. No…I didn't have time for this. This was my chance to flee…And yet, there was a man who had just saved my life lying lifelessly on the cold ground.

"He's hurt real bad, Christine…"

Knowing that I couldn't leave him like this, especially after what he had just done for us, I sighed and knew when I had to do…


	15. Chapter 15

**Christine's POV**

I wanted to get away before either of us were caught, but Gustave insisted that we help Erik. He was lying there face down in the snow and most likely on death's door. I could have gotten on the horse's back and rode off, but unfortunately, I had a conscious. Instead of leaving, Gustave and I tossed his body on the horse's back like a sack of potatoes and walked back to camp. When we arrived, Nadir was waiting for us and ready to pounce the moment he spotted Erik's lifeless body slumped over the saddle.

"Allah!" he cried, hurrying to our sides to inspect Erik's body. "Allah, what happened? What did you do to him?!"

I never seen Nadir so upset before. The man called a few of the performers over to help them get Erik down and into his caravan. Knowing that this was our chance to escape, I took the reins and grabbed Gustave's hand.

"Come on," I said. "Let's go…"

I had only taken two steps, when I was grabbed from behind and pulled around to face Nadir.

"And just where do you think you're going? You have some explaining to do!"

I tugged my arm away from the man's grasp. "I don't have to explain a single thing to you! I have a conscious and brought that monster back to you. I could have left him lying there in the snow, but I didn't. I'm leaving… I refuse to stay here as his prisoner, chained up like an animal."

"You wouldn't last a week out there on your own, Christine. It's winter… The next town is miles and miles away. You'd freeze to death, or someone worse than Erik would find you. There are worst things in the woods than Erik, Christine. There are thieves, gypsies, and bandits that would rape and torture you."

"Your words do not scare me, Nadir… I will be fine on my own."

"And what's this?" Nadir questioned, looking down at my hand that was clasped around the boy's. "You just thought you were going to leave and take the child with you?"

"But I want to go too," Gustave cried. "I don't want to live here anymore. I want a mother and a family."

"By Allah I am your family… This entire camp is your family. You're being an ungrateful brat! If Erik wanted to, he could have left you to die. But out of the goodness of his heart, he let you stay. Therefore, you're forbidden to leave here until you're old enough to take care of yourself! Now run off to my caravan and I don't want to see you for the rest of the night!"

When the boy refused to move, Nadir raised his fist into the air, causing the child to gasp and do as he was told.

"If you want to leave, Christine, then do it…. Do it now! But you will not be dragging an innocent child with you. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to go stop Erik's bleeding before he dies of blood loss."

"I hope he dies! I hope he dies the most painful death anyone could ever suffer! He deserves it!"

I was screaming this at the top of my lungs, causing Nadir to grab the collar of my jacket and pull me close to him.

"And why does he deserve it, Christine? How did he obtain those injuries? I know you didn't do that to him… Could it be that your ran off and were found by a gypsy? Could it be that Erik found you before the gypsy could rape you and saved your life? I don't know of any monsters that would have jumped in the way to save a little nothing like you… No, if Erik were a monster, he would have stood there and watched the bastard slit your throat and take you from all ends."

With that being said, Nadir threw me down in the snow and nodded.

"That's what I thought, Christine. Now get out of here…. If I ever see you again, I won't think twice about sending our strong man after you…"

When Nadir was gone, I stood to my feet and headed towards the horse Erik had been riding. I couldn't get on his back fast enough… All I wanted was to be far away from here and away from both Nadir and Erik.

"Where are you going?"

When I heard that small, familiar voice, I turned to find Gustave standing by a tree. The child looked so lonely, and as much as I just wanted to ride off and ignore him, I couldn't.

"I have to get out of here, Gustave. I can't stay another minute…"

"But why? Why do you have to leave? If you leave, I won't have anymore friends…. Please stay, Christine. You could stay with Nadir in his caravan."

I shook my head. "I won't be chained up again as his prisoner."

"He saved your life, and then you saved his… A life for a life… Maybe if you ask him kindly, he won't chain you up again."

"I don't want to take that risk… I'm leaving and there is nothing you can do about it."

I began to trot off into the woods, when I heard the boy crying… I tried to block out its heartbreaking sound, but I couldn't. Knowing that I would forever be haunted by the boy's cries, I turned around and hopped off the horse. When the boy realized that I was going to stay, he ran into my arms and tightly embraced me.

"You're going to stay forever?"

"Forever is a long time, especially with that monster…."

"What if he doesn't live, Christine? You won't have to be chained up if he doesn't live… Do you think he's going to make it?"

I shook my head. "I…I don't think so."

"But then what would happen to the camp? What would happen if he died?"

I shrugged my shoulders. "I don't know, Gustave…I don't know."

Little did I know that just a few feet away, the answer to that question had yet to be answered.

**Nadir's POV**

I paced the floor at the end of Erik's bed as our camp doctor, Dr. Gangle worked on him. It didn't seem too promising, for his sheets were soaked with blood and the man had yet to regain consciousness. I was beginning to lose my temper with Dr. Gangle when I saw him struggling to stitch the open wound on Erik's stomach.

"He's gushing blood for Allah sake!" I growled. "Can't you go a little faster?!"

"I'm going as quickly as I can. He's barely breathing and if I apply too much pressure to his chest, who knows what might happen."

Erik was turning a light blue color, his body shivering uncontrollably.

"Look at him!" I cried. "He's going into hypothermic shock! Get the rest of his clothes off him!"

"I need to stop his bleeding… You do it!"

I was growing angrier by the minute and sprung into action, stripping him of his wet trousers and boots. Afterwards, I hurried out of his caravan and into mine, grabbing every spare blanket I had in the closet. I was like a madman, hurrying back to Erik's caravan and covering his lower body with them. By then, Dr. Gangle was bandaging Erik's wounds.

"So? Is he going to be all right?"

"I wouldn't have high hopes for him," the man said. "His heart is weak and with injuries like these, he's going to need a strong heart to get him through it. On top of that, there was no medicine to disinfect the wounds."

"What do you mean there was no medicine?"

"We're out!" he growled. "You can thank our boss for that. He only got us enough medicines to last a few weeks instead of three months. He never thinks that something like this is going to happen, well, now look at him. Here we are two weeks into our journey and we're out of medicine!"

I hurried over to Erik's map of the country and began looking at the trails he had marked down on it. On the map, Erik had every town marked and what was available for purchase there. We wouldn't be hitting the next village that supplied medicine for at least three more weeks."

"If his wounds become infected, he will die."

"So you just sewed him up without disinfecting his wounds?!"

"I used water from the nearby stream. It will have to do until we get to the next town."

"The next town that supplies medicine and honey is three weeks away!"

"That is not my problem, Nadir. He's the owner of the fair… He makes up the rules and does all the purchasing. Perhaps he could tell you what to do…"

Dr. Gangle was being sarcastic with me and I didn't appreciate it. The man packed up his bag of supplies and placed the small remaining amount of bandages on the bedside table.

"Change his bandages twice a day to keep his wounds from getting infected… Though, I'm guessing there is only enough for the next three days."

We had to do something, otherwise, Erik wasn't going to survive the week. I dressed the lifeless man in the warmest robe he had and covered him with five quilts. His shivering had stopped, but his face was deathly pale. Knowing that he would feel better without having to wear his mask, I pulled the garment off his face and placed it on the side table.

"What were you doing out there, Erik? Once again, you've done everything for her and she was going to leave you lying there in the snow."

I was just checking Erik's temperature, when I saw a shadow pass by the caravan. I quickly turned and approached the tiny window to look outside, finding Christine tying Erik's horse back up to his caravan. What was she doing? I thought she was going to leave… I pulled open the door and watched her for a few moments, afraid that she was aiming to steal either Erik's caravan or the cushions from his bench.

"I thought I told you to get out of here!" I snapped.

Christine gasped and looked my way. "Well, I decided not to go…"

"And why the sudden change of heart?"

"Because the boy begged me to stay. I'm going to attempt to persuade him to not chain me up."

"You may not have to, Christine…. His chances of survival are slim, thanks to your stupidity."

"It wasn't my fault…"

I raised my eyebrow, causing the girl to sigh.

"All right, maybe it was my fault, but he added to my decision to run."

"Perhaps you could help…"

I motioned the girl to approach the door. She obeyed and stood there before me, waiting for me to tell her what to do.

"His mask is off, Christine… Does that frighten you?"

"No more than being chained up like an animal."

"Good. I need sleep, for now I am the one in charge. Will you continue tossing logs over the hearth in his kitchen to keep the caravan warm?"

The girl seemed nervous at first, but finally nodded. I let her pass and closed the door behind her.

"If you're tired you can lay down in your room. Just promise to check on him a few times tonight and keep the fire going in the hearth."

"I will."

"If you need anything, Christine, just come to my caravan and wake me up. I'll swing by early tomorrow morning to change his bandages."

I was extremely tires and upset over the fact that we didn't have anymore medicine.

"Something wrong?"

"Yes, I have to figure out a way to get Erik medicine before the week is out. Our next village that supplies medical supplies is three weeks away."

"I'm sure you will think of something, Nadir…"

I nodded and headed to the door. "Take care of him, Christine…"

Christine looked at the bed and nodded. "I will."

I wasn't sure if Erik would live until tomorrow, but if he did, I swore to myself that I would find a way to get Erik the medicine he needed.

* * *

><p><strong>I don't know..If I was Erik I would have just left Christine there alone. Now look what happened? Well maybe Erik isn't that evil after all. Please review!<strong>


	16. Chapter 16

**Erik's POV**

My head was spinning and my body was hot. I opened my eyes and found myself lying in my bed, my caravan in complete darkness, save for the few rays of the early morning sunlight that was attempting to peak in through the window drapes. I attempted to sit up, but my body began to ache, causing the memories of last night to come rushing back to me. Christine had run away with the boy, and I had chased after her. Yes, I could have let the man rape and kill them both, but I jumped in to save her. Everything came rushing back to me, but what I couldn't figure out was how I had gotten home. I remembered fighting the man and getting stabbed… I even remembered falling face down in the snow. But what I couldn't remember was how I had gotten back and why I was bandaged up. I plopped down against my pillow and closed my eyes, only opening them when I heard my door opening.

"Did he stir much last night?" I heard Nadir ask. I wasn't sure who he was talking to until I heard Christine's voice answer him.

"Not really. I checked on him a few times and ran a damp cloth over his head."

"All right. I'll take over for a while, Christine. If you want to go stretch your legs, you can take a walk."

When I heard the door open again, I opened my eyes and spotted Nadir rummaging around the kitchen. When he turned to walk towards my bed, and saw my eyes open, he hurried.

"Ah, Erik, you're awake."

I tried to speak, but found that I was too weak to do so.

"Erik, you need to relax. You need medicine and I intend to get you it. Christine hasn't left, in fact, she stayed with you last night."

I pushed myself to talk, knowing that I wouldn't be able to stay awake much longer.

"Nadir…No…Don't leave the camp."

"I have to, Erik. You need honey to disinfect your wounds, and we have not a drop. We are weeks away from a town supplying it, and without it, you'll die. I'm going to ride off to the nearest town on your map with medical supplies. I should be back in two day's time… In the meantime, I'm going to leave Christine in charge of taking care of you."

"No…I don't want her in here! I don't ever want to see her again."

"Well, until I return, she's going to be the one caring for you. You best hope I return, otherwise, your wounds will become infected and then, you will die."

Before leaving, Nadir placed a cool compress against my head and made sure the blankets were tucked tightly around me.

"Get some rest, friend…"

"Don't leave…" I begged. "I'd rather suffer through pain than to be left alone with this camp and her…"

"She could have left you face down in the snow, Erik. But instead of leaving you for dead, she brought you back to your caravan. Even after that, she didn't leave…Be nice to her."

And when Nadir left, I never felt more alone than I was right now.

**Christine's POV**

After leaving Erik's caravan, Nadir gathered up the camp and explained what was going on to everyone. He told everyone about Erik's deathly condition and how he had to leave to find medicine for him. He left Dr. Gangle in charge and told us to go on like everything was normal. Nadir still wanted the shows to go on and told us to travel to the next town tomorrow morning.

"I'll meet you in Siberia in three days time."

I waited until Nadir was finished with his meeting and heading for his horse. Once he was on his back, I approached him.

"You really are leaving us…"

"Only for a few days."

"Don't leave me alone with him, Nadir…" I begged. "Without you here Erik will be mean and angry with me. What if he kicks me out? I'll never be able to care for him without you here."

"I spoke with him, Christine. Yes, he was angry at first, but he's going to be out of it anyway. Without the medicine he will die. What you need to do is feed him and make sure that his wounds aren't bleeding. I'm going to go as fast as I can."

When Nadir was gone, I headed back to Erik's caravan, only to have Gustave come running up to me.

"Are you going to leave now?"

I shook my head. "I can't leave… I have to look over Erik."

"You're going to take care of him?"

I nodded. "I have no other choice. Nadir put me in charge."

"I heard some of the other employees saying that they don't think Erik is going to live. Without medicine he will die."

"Nadir is going to find him medicine. I'm sure he's going to be back in a few days."

"I…I have to go get the animals ready for tonight's show," Gustave said. "I'll come back later and check on you."

I was nervous about stepping back inside Erik's caravan, but I was glad to find him asleep. I made my way into the tiny kitchen and started a pot of soup. When the broth was heated up, I carried a bowl of it to Erik's bedside and took a seat beside him. The moment I sat down, his eyes opened and he groaned in agony.

"I…I made you lunch."

The man closed his eyes again and opened his mouth to take in the soup. I knew he was extremely weak, that being the reason why he wasn't fighting me. He only ate three spoonful's, but that was better than nothing.

"I have to check your wounds, but I'll check them a little later. I'll let you sleep now… Nadir said you need to get your rest."

And after rising to my feet, the man closed his eyes and slipped away to sleep.

**Erik's POV**

I didn't want to trust Christine with feeding me soup, but I had no choice. At first, I thought she would toss it in my face, but instead, she just fed me. I wasn't sure if I was going to wake, but I did… It was dark now, making it apparent that it was night. I looked around the dark caravan and saw nothing… A few seconds later, the door to my caravan opened and Christine came walking in carrying a few logs and was covered in freshly fallen snow. She removed her cloak and headed to the hearth to start a small fire to heat up my small home.

"Are you hungry?" she asked.

I shook my head and closed my eyes again.

"You're so pale…" When I felt her hand touch my hot forehead, I opened my eyes again and flinched. I didn't appreciate her touching me.

"I'm sorry, I was just checking your fever. If you don't want to eat that's all right, but I do have to check your bandages."

When she attempted to pull back the blankets, I flinched once more and grabbed her wrist to stop her.

"I need to check your bandages… Do you want to get an infection?"

I was feeling a little rested, that being the reason why I forced myself to sit up. I could see that it frightened her to see me having a little energy within me.

"I don't want you to touch me, girl!" I growled. "I don't even know why you're in here… This is my home! You wanted to run away from me, and yet, here you are…"

"I could have left you lying there in the snow… You would have died if I didn't help you."

"Well that's what you wanted, wasn't it? You wanted to get away from me and being dead would have helped you do so."

"Gus…I mean the boy begged me not to leave you. When I saw you lying there in the snow, I knew I couldn't. I brought you back here and attempted to leave…but….but…"

"But what? You know how I loath pity."

"Nadir opened my eyes to the dangers that would come my way if I left alone. He went off to find you medicine and asked me to watch over you."

The fire had lit up the room and I could see that her leg no longer had a shackle hooked around it. She was free! She was walking around my camp and caravan as a free woman!

"Where's your shackle?" I growled. "I refuse to lie here with you walking around my caravan like a free woman."

"I am a free woman. I'm not an item, monsieur! You can't just chain me up and expect me to stay with you."

"I saved your life last night…. I could have let that man rape and kill you, but I didn't… I had the decency to risk my life to save yours. You owe me your life… When I get well again I will see to it that you get another shackle placed around your ankle…"

"And what about your life? I saved your life too, did I not? After you fell down in the snow I brought you back here. A life for a life… I am no more yours than you are mine… If you ask nicely I might stay here and work for you as a free woman, but not as your prisoner."

I was about to answer the girl, but I didn't have the strength to do so. I plopped back against my pillow and closed my eyes, my heart pounding against my ears. When Christine saw this, she came rushing towards me and began checking my bandages. I would have stopped her but I didn't have the strength to do so.

"Your wound is bleeding again," she said out loud. "And it's gushing a strange colored gook."

Christine looked around on my night table and then began rummaging through the drawers.

"Wh…What are you doing?"

"Your wound is infected… I was looking for some clean bandages and a knife."

I groaned into my pillow as continued to watch Christine run around the caravan. She came back with a few things in her arms and placed them on the bed. There was a lit candle on the night table and Christine was now holding the blade over its orange flame.

"This is going to hurt…"

"Wh…What are you doing!" I growled. "Get that thing away from me…"

Christine placed a rag into my mouth and told me to bite down on it. With that being said, she took the red glowing blade and moved it towards my stomach. My heart began to race as she placed the hot blade against my wound, causing me to scream. Her hand held my body down against the mattress as the horrible smell of burning flesh filled the caravan. Even after she pulled the blade away from my wound my body still felt the aftershock of being burned. She placed a cold wet cloth against my stomach, causing me to nearly black out from the pain.

"I'm sorry…" she said. "I…I had no other choice. You would have died from an infection. I…I needed to clean your wound."

When Christine noticed how deathly I looked, she gathered to her feet and hurried out the door, returning with some water from the nearby stream. The chill in the water soothed my pain if only for a few moments. I knew if Nadir didn't return soon with medicine I was going to die a horrible death. If my wound reopened, I knew I wouldn't survive another wound closing like the one I had just received. Christine would be back in shackles, and when I recovered, I would see to it that she was.

"I'll sit here with you," she said, holding the cold cloth against my wound.

The pain was so bad that I eventually blacked out, not knowing if I was going to wake again…


	17. Chapter 17

**Christine's POV**

It was the middle of the night of our second day without Nadir and Erik had not waken in over twelve hours. I constantly checked on him to make sure that he was still breathing and felt a sense of relief when I realized that he was. The problem was that his wound looked so infected, even after I sealed it with the hot blade. His fever had risen, and I knew if it rose any higher, he would most likely die. Feeling worried, I set out in search of Dr. Gangle, hoping that he would be able to help. Though, when he arrived and saw Erik's condition, he told me that he probably wouldn't survive the night.

"He's in God's hands now," the man replied. "There is nothing left to be done unless Nadir gets back with the medicine he went for."

I prayed, prayed to God and my papa to watch over Erik. He was a cruel man, but behind that cruelness, there was also a heart. He cared, even though he had a strange way of showing it. We traveled all through the night to reach the destination where we were supposed to meet up with Nadir. Even on our third day, Nadir was late… He was supposed to be back before sunrise and the man had yet to return. Trying to keep Erik's fever from rising was nearly impossible…. Erik was nearly on his last breath, when the man finally arrived. He came hurrying into Erik's caravan late that night carrying a sack filled with medicine and bandages.

"I thought you got lost!" I cried, jumping to my feet.

Nadir was wet from the snow but didn't hesitate a single second in pulling a jar of honey from his sack.

"Oh, Christine, he looks dead already…"

Nadir pressed the palm of his hand against Erik's burning forehead.

"He'll die tonight if we don't do something," I said. "He nearly died a few hours after you left."

Nadir worked quickly at spreading some of the honey across his wound and wrapped it in fresh bandages. When he was patched up, Nadir got down on his knees and began praying in his own language.

"Do you think this is going to work?" I asked.

Nadir finished praying and stood to his feet. "He is strong, Christine. Erik has always been a fighter… You know, his mother wanted to let him starve as a baby. She thought that by not touching him, he would find his way back to heaven. Erik fought as a baby… He cried so much that his mother was forced to feed to him. When he got a little older, he caught consumption one winter. His mother left him to die in the attic, but still, he did not die. When he was captured by a clan of gypsies after running away from home, he fought for seven years to free himself from them. Then, he found his way to Persia… He fought harder than ever to stay alive. He fought even harder when the mob attacked him. You see, Christine, Erik has always been a fighter and I know that he always will be."

Nadir patted me on the back. "Get some sleep, child. I will take the next shift."

I was extremely tired from watching over him the past few days. Therefore, I headed to my room and immediately fell asleep, hoping that when I woke, Erik would be out of harm's way.

When I stirred the following morning, the first thing I noticed was the sun trying to brighten up my room. I tried to roll over and go back to sleep, but I couldn't, for it was too bright. I was a little disoriented at first, but after sitting up, the first thing that came to mind was Erik… I gasped and hurried out to his bedroom, nearly panicking when I noticed that his bed was completely empty. No… He couldn't have died.

"No…" I cried out loud and began looking through his blankets, not wanting to believe that he was gone.

"What in God's name are you doing to my bed?"

When I heard a familiar voice, I spun around and saw Erik standing in the doorway with one hand clutching his bandaged wound. He was here! He was really here!

"I…I thought you…that you didn't survive the night."

"Stupid girl, I had to relieve myself out back. I have been holding it in for three days. Sick or not, a man does have to piss once in a while."

The man stumbled back towards his bed and when I attempted to help, he held up his hand in protest.

"Don't touch me. I can do it on my own…"

When he was seated, I noticed that he was pulling aside his bandages. I couldn't see much, but it seemed that his wound wasn't as red as it once had been.

"I'll give you some more honey and some clean bandages."

"While you're at it, Nadir brought me some more medicine for my pain. I think he told me he was going to sit it on the kitchen counter."

I obeyed Erik's wishes and brought him everything he needed, but never touched him. While he was fixing himself up, I headed into the kitchen to prepare breakfast, bringing it over to him when it was ready. He had been leaning down bandaging his wound, when I interrupted him.

"Here you are," I said, holding a cup of tea out to him.

The moment the man looked up, he gasped in fear and scooted away. I knew he would never trust me with hot tea again after what I had done to him.

"Get that away from me, girl!"

I placed the steaming cup on the night table and backed away.

"I wasn't going to toss it in your face. You can trust me…"

"I can do no such thing. Not after what you did to me…"

"If I wanted to hurt you I could have done it already."

"You're plotting something in that evil mind of yours, Christine. Just let me eat in peace and go to the stream to fetch me some fresh water to bath in."

Knowing that he would get angry with me if I didn't leave the caravan, I grabbed a pail and headed towards the stream.

**Erik's POV**

I didn't expect to live through the night, but I did… Recovering was the hardest part of surviving, but each day I was able to do something more than I could the day before. We had finally gotten through the winter, and just as the snow melted, so did my pain. Spring had finally arrived and the winter was over. Christine had gone to stay with Nadir and the boy in his caravan to give me the privacy I needed. After leaving Russia, we made our way to France, knowing that the beautiful spring weather would lure in more people at night. Though, I knew if Christine intended to stay, she was not only getting the shackle placed back on her leg, but she would also have to pull her own weight in the camp just like everyone else.

One morning after finishing with my paperwork, I headed outside in search of the woman. I found her sitting near Nadir's caravan with the boy. She was laughing and playing with the child…Playing with him in the same way a mother would play with her son. She had the boy in her arms and was blowing on his stomach, causing him to laugh and attempt to wiggle his way from her grasp. My mother was never like this with me… She was a woman filled with hate for me, and every day she made sure she showed it. When I was standing right over her, I cleared my throat to acknowledge that I was there. The first one to notice me was the boy, for he immediately stopped laughing and pulled away from Christine.

"Is this a circus?" I growled.

The boy shook his head. "No, sir…"

"Then stop horsing around and get to work! Those animals aren't going to get ready on their own now are they?"

The boy ran towards the one elephant I owned, leaving Christine and I alone.

"You don't have to be so mean to him," she began. "He's only a child. He deserves to have a childhood too you know…"

"My camp is a place where work is to be done. Horseplay is not allowed…. And what is this?"

I motioned to Christine who was just sitting there while everyone else was getting ready for the show.

"You sit here as if you're on holiday…. There are things that need to be done, and just like everyone else including that gypsy boy, you too will have to pull your weight around here."

"I never said that I wouldn't, Erik…"

"No, girl, to me, I will be known as "Sir." No one is allowed to call me by my birth name. Now… As I recall, the last time we had this conversation, you had a shackle around your leg."

"I'm not a prisoner, Sir…" She sarcastically replied. "If you want me to work for you, I will, but not shackled like one of your animals."

"As if I would trust you not to run. You've done so twice already and the last time you did so, it left me on death's door."

"I saved your life did I not? Don't I deserve something?"

This girl was trying my patience, so much that I was about to snap her neck.

"You're testing me, girl… You should know what happens when I lose my temper. I'm about to do just that."

"I'm not asking for much," she said, rising to her feet. "Just let me come and go in this camp as I please. I will leave you alone and do as I'm told, this I promise. And when I make a promise, I don't break it. I promise not to run anymore… If I wanted to run away I would have done so already while you were dying. Lock me up again and I won't be able to keep that promise."

Knowing that I did owe the girl something, I nodded. "All right. You're on probation. Trust must be earned in my camp."

When the girl wasn't looking, I quickly snapped the shackle back around her leg. Though, it was just a shackle without the chain.

"Hey, you said…"

"I said trust has to be earned… You say you won't run away… I don't believe you. Therefore, you're not chained, the shackle is just a reminder… A reminder of what will happen should you attempt to do so again. I'll take that heavy shackle off your leg when you can prove to me that I can trust you. With that being said, you're back in the ticket booth tonight."

I was just walking away, when I heard Christine yell out to me once more.

"You are a disgusting and horrible person…"

I froze and spun around to face the girl once more.

"And what makes you any different, Christine? Tell me…. Because I remember quite well, you letting that mob chase me into the woods and do what they wanted to me. I thought for the longest time that you had saved me, but I was wrong. Then, you refuse to stay with me and you married that fop… Now look where you're at. Right back here with me. What goes around comes around, Christine."

"You can force me to stay, but I will never give you the time of day again. I hate you…"

"You and everyone else in this world, girl… I'm glad you decided to join the club."

What Christine and I once had was something only one would find in a book… But that chapter ended, and now, a new one had begun, one that was closer to reality than ever before. For I knew as long as I lived on this earth no woman would ever look on me and love.


	18. Chapter 18

**Christine's POV**

I left Erik's caravan with the shackle around my leg. I looked down at the heavy piece of metal and knew that Erik wanted to torture me for what I had done to him. I knew I wasn't going to get the shackle off my leg without earning Erik's trust or finding a key.

"He put the shackle back on your leg again."

When I heard Gustave's voice, I looked up to see him standing there with the camp's elephant. I gasped and backed away, for I had never been this close to one before. Gustave giggled at my fright and pulled a peanut out of his pocket.

"What's wrong?" he questioned. "You act as though she's going to eat you."

"They're dangerous, are they not?"

Gustave pointed to the elephant's mouth and from what I could see, there were no tusks… I found this strange, for when I had seen pictures of these creatures in books, the first thing I always noticed was their pointy ivory.

"The master saved Lucy from poachers. They sawed off her tusks and were going to shoot her for her hide. He paid them not to kill her and she's been with us ever since…."

I never thought Erik held a soft spot for animals, but what he had done for this elephant was a kindness.

"One of the employees trained her and now she works in the show each night."

"W…What does she do?"

Gustave seemed excited over this, for he stepped in front of her and held up the peanut. I watched in amazement as the elephant wrapped her trunk around Gustave's body and lifted him into the air and placed him on her back. I was frightened at first, afraid that the elephant was going to kill him, but I trusted the boy and watched.

"Now it's your turn."

"My turn? I think not…."

"She's harmless, Christine. Come on…"

The boy threw down a peanut and I picked it up. I didn't even have the chance to hold it up to Lucy for as soon as I picked it up, her trunk wrapped around my waist and I was lifted into the air.

I closed my eyes and wanted to scream in fear, but as fast as I was lifted into the air, I was placed beside Gustave on her back. It was so strange being up this high, but my fear was finally starting to subside. The boy called out a command and Lucy began walking towards the fair where everyone was setting up for the night's show.

"I take care of Lucy and the other animals," Gustave said. "That's my job. After I feed Lucy, I ride her towards the tent and hand her over to Dr. Gangle."

I watched the performers practicing outside a large tent. Some were juggling, others were balancing themselves on strange objects, and some were even dancing. Every time we would pass by someone, they would look up at us before going about their business. Lucy entered the tent and stopped when she was near a few bales of hay.

"How do we get down?"

Gustave patted Lucy's head and yelled out a command. From there, the elephant knelt down and we were able to both slide off.

"Come on, I want to show you something."

The boy grabbed my hand and led me towards the center of the small arena.

"This is where the main show happens. Everyone sits on the wooden benches and Dr. Gangle starts the show. He announces each act as they come out. He's the ring leader…"

"So Erik runs a circus…"

"No, it's a traveling fair… The tent here is just one act. Outside of the tent there are oddities that display themselves to the crowds. I want to be in here performing one day."

I smiled. "You do? What would you do?"

"I really like the animals… I'd like to work with them somehow… Maybe I could tame lions or put a snake to sleep…"

I giggled at the boy's excitement.

"Lion tamers and snake hypnotizers? Where do you come up with this?"

"Well, there is one thing I can do."

"What?"

Gustave ran away for a few seconds and returned with Erik's black stallion. The horse was saddleless and willingly following Gustave into the tent.

"Does Erik know you have his horse?"

"No, but he doesn't need to know."

Gustave hopped onto his back and began riding him around in a circle. A few moments later, the boy stood up and balanced himself on the horse's back while it galloped around the tent at a high speed.

"What are you doing?" I frantically asked. "You're going to fall."

"I've practiced!" he called out. "Isn't it great? No one here can do this…."

This went on for another two seconds until a loud and angry voice interrupted.

"Boy, you're going to get yourself killed if the master sees you doing that to his stallion!"

This knocked the child off balance and he went plummeting off the horse's back. I was there to immediately catch him, causing us to both fall to the ground. The man who had shouted at Gustave grabbed the reins of Erik's horse to calm him down before grabbing Gustave by his ear.

"One of these days, boy you're going to get yourself killed! The master hates gypsies enough as it is. I'm sure he wouldn't mind burying a little nothing like you."

"Hey!" I stood up to the man who was covered in tattoos. "Don't talk to him like that. He's only a child…"

"Ah," the man seemed to lose interest in Gustave the moment I stood up to him. "You're the new girl. Well, new girl, let me tell you how things are run around here. First of all, you don't speak up to me."

"And who are you?"

"Mr. Squelch, the world's strongest man. You will do what you're told in this camp and nothing more. This boy was told time and time again by me not to ride the horses like that. If you have a problem with that, madam, you can leave the camp. Are we clear?"

When I didn't say anything, Mr. Squelch grabbed my wrist, causing me to gasp.

"I'm sorry, I'm a little hard of hearing… I said, are we clear?"

"Yes," I growled. "We're clear…"

"Good…Now, get out of this tent. Some people have to work tonight."

"You don't have to be so cruel!" I cried. "You're cruel because the master is cruel to you."

Mr. Squelch had been walking towards the exit when he stopped and turned to face me once again. His eyes met with the shackle that was around my leg and he chuckled.

"Why is the master cruel? Because he placed a shackle around your leg? That shackle should be the least of your worries, girl. You're lucky the master didn't torture and leave you for dead. He's capable of that, you know…"

"I'm sure he is," I sarcastically replied.

"Then we're clear with you knowing your place around here…Good day."

When Mr. Squelch was gone, Gustave tugged on my skirts.

"He used to bother me, but he doesn't anymore."

"I'm frightened…"

"He's only mean because his family was killed."

"Killed?"

Gustave nodded. "Nadir told me that before he came to us, he worked in a circus with his wife and two twin boys. While they were traveling through Russia, a ban of thieves raided the circus and did bad things to the women who worked there. They trapped everyone inside and burned down the tent. Mr. Squelch was the only one who survived."

"He doesn't have to hate the world for it," I said. "Not everyone in this world is bad."

"Most of the performers that came here went through some kind of traumatic experience. The master said that's why this camp is so strong. He said our experiences and hate for the world make us unstoppable."

Knowing that it was close to show time, I exited the tent and made my way towards the ticket booth. The crowds were going to be coming in soon and I knew Erik would expect me to sell lots of tickets. I was nearly to my booth, when I saw three men walking towards the camp. I immediately stopped in place as soon as I saw them, for I knew these men! They were the ones I had been running from for the past few years! One was a tall blonde man, that looked exactly like Raoul, for he was his brother Phillip! The other two men were the two authorities that had been helping Phillip look for me. I panicked and knew that my only means of salvation was Erik. Before they could find me, I hurried to his caravan and went inside, ducking beneath the man's bed. I could only hope that the men would see that I wasn't there and leave.

**Erik's POV**

I had been resting comfortably in my bed before tonight's show, when my caravan door came open and Christine came running in. I wasn't sure what she was doing, and pushed myself upward on my elbows. The girl seemed frightened and darted beneath my bed. Oh, I was in no mood for games!

"Girl, what in the Devil's name are you doing beneath my bed?! You best come out before I have to drag you out myself. And oh, if I have to do that you will regret it."

"There are three men wandering around the camp," she cried. "Two of them are authorities, and the other one is Raoul's brother. They're looking for me… They think I killed my husband. If they find me I will be thrown into jail or put to death… Please…."

I stood up and fastened my trousers. After adjusting my mask, I came around the side of the bed and found the girl lying there in a ball.

"They are walking around now are they?"

She nodded. "Wh…What if your employees tell them about me?"

"Everyone here is under an oath. We don't rat anyone out…"

"Please, don't make me go back out there…"

"I'm a cruel man, remember?" I mocked. "That's what you called me… A cruel man. If I truly were a cruel man, I wouldn't keep you safe now would I?"

The girl shook her head.

"That's what I thought… Perhaps you should choose your words more wisely next time, Christine."

With that being said, I stepped outside of my caravan and looked for the three men Christine spoke about. She was indeed right, for there were three strange men walking about my camp. If there was one thing I detested more than the human race, it was snoopers.

"Excuse me?" I snapped, walking towards the three men who were currently looking beneath another caravan. "Can I help you?"

The tall blonde haired man pulled out a flyer of some sort and showed it to me. On it, a drawn picture of Christine.

"Yes, freak…Have you seen this woman? She's wanted for murder."

"Murder, you say?" I questioned. "And why do you believe I would house a murderer in my camp?"

"Who's to say that a freak like you wouldn't house a desperate girl in return for her pleasure?"

Oh, I hated this fop! This was indeed Raoul's brother for the man was just as despicable as he was.

"You called me a freak, and that's exactly what this camp is filled with. Freaks only, fop…"

"So you haven't seen the girl?"

"No, can't say that I have… We have so many people coming through our camp each night that I don't remember faces. We strive on money, not identities. Now, if you'll do me a favor and leave my camp that would be greatly appreciated."

"All right, we'll leave, but to clear your name, you have to do one thing."

"That being?"

"Let us search your caravan…"

I was about to protest, when the two authorities flashed their badges at me. Before I could say a word they were already headed towards my caravan. Yes, I could have fought them, but what was worse than being arrested was them finding Christine hiding beneath my bed…


	19. Chapter 19

**Erik's POV**

"There is no need for you to enter my private quarters," I cried. "You can't just come into a someone's camp and invade a man's privacy!"

Raoul's brother turned to face me, a sly smile spreading across his face. "If you say the girl isn't here, then there is no need for you to feel threatened. Just let my two men search your home and when we don't find anything, we will leave. It's as simple as that. Now, you can kindly show us into your home…"

I didn't want these people rummaging through my home, but I knew if I put up a fight they would most likely arrest me. Therefore, I opened the door to my caravan and let the three of them pass me.

"It's like a dungeon in here," Raoul's brother snapped. "Couldn't you give us some light?"

"I am sensitive to the light," I began. "The darkness is much kinder to me."

I approached the only window in my caravan and pulled back the drapes to let some light in.

"Typical freak," I heard Raoul's brother mumble beneath his breath.

I watched as the two officers combed every inch of my bedroom while the other despicable man stood by my desk. I was more concerned about watching him than the two officers, for this man was just as sneaky as his brother was.

"You compose music do you?"

The moment I heard the man say those exact words my eyes darted back to my desk to see him lifting some papers up off my desk. I immediately darted towards the man and pulled the scores from his fingers.

"Don't touch my work!" I growled. "You can come in here and look but I refuse to let you touch my things."

The evil man folded his hands behind his back and looked at the wall above my desk. I didn't think anything of it until I remembered that I had a few newspaper articles about the Pairs Opera House hanging there.

"You are familiar with the Opera Populair…"

"Who isn't? It's famous for its world class performers and spectacular shows."

"You know my brother spoke about a freak who lived beneath the opera house once… He brought it up during a family gathering. He said that this deformed monster walked the rafters during performances and raised hell. When I asked my brother to describe him, he told me that he didn't know what he looked like… No one did, actually. He said that this freak was always dressed in black and that his shadow was all anyone ever saw of him."

My heart began to race within my chest, and this wasn't good, for my heart was weak enough without having to be over worked. Usually when my heart rate sped up, it would be followed by shortness of breath and then eventually blacking out. I tried to calm myself down without being noticed, but this man was beginning to make me utterly uncomfortable.

"I…I don't know what you're talking about." I said. "I never heard of any deformed monster running around the Opera House. I…I've never been to the opera house."

The officers left my bedroom and were now headed towards the back area of my caravan. I needed some air quickly to calm my heart down, but I knew if I stepped outside, I would give myself away. Therefore, I continued to stand there with this horrible man, attempting to take a few deep breaths to stop my heart from racing. Though, a few moments later, one of the officers came storming back into the room carrying a dress….Oh, but it wasn't just any dress, it was the dress Christine had been wearing just a few nights ago. He held it up and the eyes of Raoul's brother widened in satisfaction.

"Ah, so you're going to tell me that you're married? Where is the girl that this dress belongs to?"

My heart sped up even faster and I stumbled backwards, landing on my bed. I could no longer breathe and I was on the verge of blacking out. It was over… I knew that they were going to find Christine and arrest us both.

A few seconds later, the door to my caravan opened and Reha walked in. As soon as she seen the officers, she hurried to my side and helped me to my feet. I wasn't sure why she had come in, but she was smart, for she started talking to me in her foreign tongue.

"What is she saying?" one of the officers questioned.

I knew this language, for I had lived in Persia for a long time. Though, I knew she was only talking to me this way in order to throw off the officers.

"S…She is asking if I'm all right," I said. "She wants to know why you're holding up her dress."

"Who is this woman?" Raoul's brother questioned.

"This is Reha, my wife… She doesn't speak English."

Knowing that they had no proof, the officers left my caravan. Raoul's brother seemed angriest of all, for before leaving, he grabbed my shirt and pulled me towards him.

"I don't believe a word you say, freak. We'll be keeping an eye on you… You best watch your back."

When they were gone, Reha ran to my window and looked out into the camp.

"I think they're gone…"

"G…Go get Nadir," I gasped. "An…And Dr. Gangle."

"Right away, sir…"

I thought I was alone in my caravan but as soon as Reha left, the cabinet in the kitchen opened and Christine came crawling out of it. I was glad that the girl had enough sense to hide.

"Erik, are they gone?"

"Close the drape…"

Christine immediately flew to the window and flung the drape over it.

"Thank you….Thank you for not turning me in."

When the door to the caravan opened again, Nadir and Dr. Gangle came walking in. Christine backed away and watched as the tall doctor opened my shirt and placed the end of his stethoscope in the center of my chest.

"Erik, can you breathe all right?" Nadir asked.

I shook my head.

"He's having a severe panic attack…" Dr. Gangle replied, running towards the kitchen. He came back with a filled syringe and stuck it in my side. "Just keep taking deep breaths, it will be over in a few minutes."

And when it was, I never felt more drained. Nadir placed me beneath the blankets of my bed and patted my on the back.

"It's over now, Erik… Just rest. Christine will stay in here until we make sure that the coast is clear."

"After tonight's show," I began. "I want us to leave this place."

"I'll spread the word."

**Christine's POV**

I felt as though I were to blame for Erik's panic attack. But Nadir assured me that I wasn't… I was supposed to be the one working the ticket booth, but because of Phillip walking around, Nadir told me to stay inside. Once he and the doctor were gone, I found Erik fast asleep in his bed. Knowing that it was best to let him rest, I found my way back to my room and took a nap as well. When I woke again, the sun had gone away and the stars had returned. From where I was lying, I could hear the sounds of people and music coming from a short distance away. After standing to my feet, I walked down the short hallway and into the kitchen. Right outside the kitchen was Erik's area and even though the caravan was a little dark, I could see that his bed was empty. Curious, I came around the corner and saw him sitting at his desk, a few burning candles being his only means of light. He was scribbling away on a piece of parchment, his shirt sleeves rolled up to his elbows.

I had never seen his bare arms before, and now that I was, I couldn't help but notice that not only were they boney and pale, but they were also covered in thousands of lumpy scars. I never thought his arms would have looked so damaged, but they were… It seemed that if I even placed my palm over his wrist it would cause him pain.

"I don't appreciate you standing over me like that." Came his stern voice.

"Sorry… I didn't want to disturb you."

"Doing what you're doing now is disturbing."

Knowing that it would be better to switch the subject, I took a step away from him.

"How are you feeling?"

"Why do you care how I'm feeling? This coming from the girl who tossed hot tea in my face."

"I…I was frightened. I know I can make up a million excuses why I did it, but I know now that it wasn't the right thing to do. I'm sorry."

"Well, let me toss a hot drink in your face and I'll tell you that I'm sorry. We will see if the feeling is still mutual."

"All right, I get it…. But I'm still sorry. You know that I'm sorry, otherwise, you wouldn't have protected me this afternoon. I'm thankful for that."

"Good, I'm glad," he sarcastically growled.

"Y…You look hungry," I began. "Let me repay you by making you dinner. It's cold outside. I'm sure soup would warm us both up."

The man stopped writing and turned to face me, his white mask glowing in the candle light.

"I look hungry? Tell me, Christine, what does hungry look like? I didn't know one could look hungry."

"I…I don't know. I just know that you haven't eaten in a while. I'm trying to do something nice for you. Can you just agree and tell me what you want?"

"Nothing… I don't want anything from you."

I placed my hand over his wrist, causing him to flinch and push me away from him.

"Don't put a single hand on me….I don't need your pity. What I did for you today was not a favor. I protect all of my employees in this camp, and you are just that. You will stay in here until we reach out next destination, after that you can frolic back to Nadir's caravan where you belong."

I didn't say another word to the man… No, I entered the kitchen and made dinner. When the tomato soup was finished, I filled a bowl and carried it to Erik's desk. I placed it down beside him, his icy blue eyes immediately left his work and landed on the bowl.

"I made myself dinner," I said. "There is enough out there for two people."

"Are you hard of hearing?" he began. "I thought I told you that I wanted to be left alone?"

"You don't have to eat it if you don't want to, but it's there if you want it."

The man stood up from his seat, his height over powering my own. He took the bowl and held it out to me.

"Take this back to the kitchen."

"No," I murmured. "I…I made it for you."

Erik's squeezed his fist together and pushed it towards me, causing some of it to splash out and stain my white dress.

"You either take this back into the kitchen or you are going to wear it as a hat."

"I made it for…." I didn't even get the chance to finish what I had to say, for the man dumped the bowl of tomato soup over my head. When the bowl was empty, he tossed it aside and sat back down in his chair as if nothing had happened. There I stood, drenched in soup, my dress ruined, and he didn't even care.

"I hate you!" I cried. "I hate you more than anything in the world. I'm glad I didn't agree to spend my life with you, for how could anyone love such an evil monster!"

With that being said, I ran into my room and cried myself to sleep.

* * *

><p><strong>Hey everyone sorry that I haven't been writing my Author notes lately. I really haven't had anything to say. I will try to write one more often since it seems to mean so much to you all. Please review!<strong>


	20. Chapter 20

**Erik's POV**

Just as I had instructed, we left France that night, not stopping until I thought we were far away from Raoul's brother and the authorities. Even when we were settled in our new location, I had Christine stay inside my caravan. It wasn't that I wanted her living with me, because I didn't. I wanted her to be back in Nadir's caravan, but I wanted to wait until I thought the coast was clear. The last thing I needed was Raoul's brother spotting her walking about the camp. It had already been two weeks since the confrontation and I knew that by tomorrow she would be able to leave me. Though, I had not interacted with the woman since the night of our fight. After pouring the soup over her head, she had run to her room and cried herself to sleep. After that night she had not spoken to me, and I was glad.

I was making my rounds around the camp, when Nadir came walking out of his caravan. I ignored the man and continued with my rounds… Until he spoke to me.

"Has Christine spoke to you yet?"

"About what?"

Nadir rolled his eyes. "Well, when I came to check on her last week she told me what you did to her. I was appalled. You don't treat a woman like that, Erik."

"Oh, I know," I began. "What I did was a kindness. What I should have done was toss it in her face."

"And you wonder why no female has ever smiled at you."

"Oh, here we go… I'm sorry, Khan, I shall have to bow before her when I return to my caravan. I will grovel at her feet and beg for forgiveness."

"You should. You not only poured soup over her head, but you humiliated her."

"I don't remember there being anyone around. Therefore, I couldn't have humiliated her."

"But you did. You poured soup over her head and then, you acted as if nothing happened. It was disrespectful."

"Now it's disrespectful? Next you'll change your story and tell me it was cruel or disgusting. Believe me, Persian, I'll be happy when she can frolic back to your caravan tomorrow. She's been quiet, but just knowing that there is somebody else in my caravan is nerve wracking. I haven't been able to take off my mask or change in the privacy of my own bedroom. I feel as though her eyes are always on me."

"You ruined her only dress, Erik. She had no way of getting that big red stain out of her dress, and so, she's been wearing it for two weeks. The girl is your employee, and yet, you haven't paid her or given her any means of clothing. When she came, Reha was kind enough to give the poor girl one of her dresses, but other than that, she has nothing."

"She's done nothing to earn a pay! What has she done to earn a single cent out of me?"

"She did run the ticket booth for a few nights. I think she deserves something…"

"What that monster deserves is to be thrown out in the snow. She has a roof over her head and food in her stomach. I think that is more than what she deserves, Persian."

"Erik, I know that what she did has scared you, but be as it may, the girl needs help. I think that treating her with a little respect would be a kindness. The girl lost her husband and is being blamed for his death."

"Good…"

I saw Nadir's jaw slightly drop, but he didn't say a word. With that being said, I continued with my rounds. As I was doing so, I thought about what I had just said to Nadir, and knew that forcing the girl to continue wearing her stained dress wasn't right. When I was a child, I had been forced to wear the same clothing for years. I remembered how dirty and smelly I had been and how I would have done anything to get a clean pair of trousers. Yes, I disliked the woman, but I wouldn't wish being dirty and uncomfortable on anyone. I knew what it felt like to have maggots eating away at your flesh or smelling so foul that just a single whiff would make you vomit. The more I thought about it, the more I cringed. Knowing that I needed to make things right, I hurried into town and purchased Christine a few new dresses.

When I arrived back I walked into my caravan and towards the back room where Christine had been staying. She was sitting on her bed still dressed in the same stained dress. The moment she saw me standing there, she gave me one look before going back to reading the book she had in her hand.

"Ignoring me won't make things any better," I said. "If you're going to be ignorant than I shall have to continue being the same way."

The girl slammed her book down and crossed her arms over her chest.

"You of all people shouldn't be standing there saying such things," she snapped. "You're the one who dumped that soup over my head. I have a right to be mad at you."

"Well, I've come bearing gifts," I said, placing the three dresses down on her bed.

The girl looked at them and even made a move to run her finger over the fabric of the top dress.

"But why?"

"Because I know what it's like to feel dirty."

"But…"

The moment the girl tried to protest, my anger got the best of me.

"Don't argue with me! If you want to wear your filthy dress than go ahead and do so but I don't want to see another tear slip down your cheek!"

Before the girl could answer, I left her side of the room and stormed back to my own to continue working on the paper work that needed to be finished. Oh, some people just didn't know when to just say thank you…

**Christine's POV**

The dresses that Erik had purchased for me were beautiful. They weren't anything elaborate, but they were enough. He got me three dresses, one red, one blue and one green. They were perfect and would keep me warm. I hadn't had a bath in over two weeks, and I didn't want to put on one of the clean dresses until I felt the same way. After gathering up a bucket and some of Erik's soap he had sitting on the counter, I left the caravan and headed to the nearby stream. Winter was coming to an end, and the weather wasn't as cold, making it possible to bathe outside. After making sure I was alone, I stripped off my dirty dress and began sponge bathing myself with the chilled water. I was quick and after slipping on my new dress, I hurried back to Erik's caravan.

"And where have you been?" came Erik's angry voice the moment I walked into the caravan. He was sitting at his desk with his back facing me. I closed the door and placed the bucket aside.

"I…I was getting washed up."

"You're going to be working tonight's show," he began. "I want you out there and not taking up space in here. You need to earn your keep just like everyone else."

"What time to you want me to be at the ticket booth?"

The moment I mentioned the ticket booth, Erik stopped working and looked over his shoulder.

"You won't be working the ticket booth tonight or any other night," he said. "I wouldn't want to risk anyone seeing you. No, from now on you will be working with the costumes. Do you think you could manage that?"

I nodded, knowing that I would get nothing but anger if I argued.

"Good, come along… I wish to show you something."

The man stood and didn't even notice that I was wearing one of the dresses he had purchased for me. I followed him out of his caravan and into the large red tent that was on the other side of the camp. Everyone was preparing for the night's show, Erik yelling out commands as we passed each performer.

"It's an hour until show time!" he growled out to a few dwarfs that were juggling in the center of the tent. "Get these props up off the ground and out of the way of the other performers!"

Erik led me to an area that was closed off to the other performers, and area that had costumes of all shapes and sizes hanging about. Erik took a glitter covered jumpsuit and held it up in front of me.

"Your new job shall be with the costumes. As each performer strips off their costume you are to inspect it for tears and repair them if needed. Everything you will need to repair the costumes will be in the chest behind you."

"What if they don't need to be repaired?"

"Then you will just hang them back up."

Erik hung the jumpsuit back up and stormed past me as if he hadn't just spoke with me. I wasn't sure why the man had to be so cruel, for in the past he had not been like this. This job was certainly better than working the ticket booth, for I got to meet every one of the performers with this job. I tried to count Erik's employees but lost track after the first twenty. I never knew he had so many people working for him. I even got to see Gustave for a few moments during the show when he was bringing Lucy out for her performance. When everyone left the tent for the night, I stayed to repair a costume. It was quiet and the only light was from a small lantern I had sitting beside me.

A little while later I heard footsteps, only to look up and find Erik heading towards me. He seemed surprised to see me sitting there. He had been carrying a bucket of tickets, but placed them down as soon as he spotted me sitting there.

"Are you finished?" he snapped.

I nodded and stood to hang up the jumpsuit.

"Good, it's late…"

After hanging up the jumpsuit, I turned to face him, finding that the sleeve of his jacket was torn. Now, I knew that questioning the man would get me yelled at, therefore I approached him and touched the place of his sleeve that was torn. He moved his arm, his eyes gazing at the hole.

"Oh, yes," he began. "I almost forgot about that… The door to the caravan closed on my arm. When I yanked, my sleeve tore."

Wanting to do something nice for him, I held up the needle and thread I had been sewing with, offering to patch his sleeve.

"I'll purchase a new jacket in town," he snapped. "I don't need you to fix it."

"Jackets are expensive," I said. "And to purchase a new one just because of a single tear would be foolish. It won't take long…"

"You don't need to work overtime on my behalf…"

"It would only take a few moments."

"Well, let's do this back at the caravan," he said. "It's going to rain and when it rains it gets pretty wet in this tent."

I walked with Erik back to his caravan. The remainder of the camp had gone inside, for there was nothing left but smoldering ashes of fires and darkness. Erik lit the way with a lantern, holding it in front of him to see where we were going. Once back at his caravan, he unlocked his door and let me pass before following me inside. He placed the lantern on his desk and proceeded to remove his jacket, handing it to me before taking a seat. There weren't many times in the past where I had seen him without it, but for some odd reason, I didn't mind.


End file.
